Mumbai Indians (MI) posted 203 in Qualifier 2 — a total that should have made any opposition sweat in an ultimate high-pressure knockout. But the Punjab Kings chased it down emphatically, doing so with an over to spare, thanks largely to Shreyas Iyer’s masterclass. However, Mumbai’s baffling tactical choices, led by captain Hardik Pandya, played a part as well.
Questionable captaincy by Hardik Pandya
Hardik’s captaincy left more questions than answers. After taking the key wicket of Josh Inglis and conceding just two runs in his first over, Hardik never bowled again beyond the 10th. This, despite bowling smartly with changes of pace and using the surface expertly — something he’s done before at Ahmedabad. He even created a chance to dismiss Nehal Wadhera, the game-changer of the match but Trent Boult’s drop proved costly.
Meanwhile, Reece Topley, who was playing his first match in two months, was given the ball for the 13th over. He conceded 19 runs, including three sixes from Iyer that flipped the game on its head. Why not back yourself, or the seasoned Santner, on a track where subtle variations mattered?
Why no Santner?
We all know that had Boult caught Wadhera on the boundary, Pandya would’ve definitely didn’t hold back Santner against a possible duo of Marcus Stoinis and Iyer. But given Santner’s mastery over his art, you should bank on a more experienced and renowned bowler rather than a certain matchup call.
Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 87 off 41 balls was a masterful display of chasing down a total. Precise, calculated, unhurried and crucially, unchallenged. Once the chase entered the middle overs, Mumbai’s plans looked scrambled. With Hardik refusing to back himself or Santner, Iyer found the freedom to pick his bowlers, his moments, and eventually, the match.
On a day when even Jasprit Bumrah was taken to cleaners, MI’s best attacking option was Santner. But Pandya didn’t trust him again. In the 13 innings Santner bowled in, he completed his quota of overs just six times. It’s an absolute shame, considering MI now finally has a world-beating spinner that they have yearned for a decade.
Hardik, the all-rounder, barely bowled. Hardik, the batter, scraped 14 off 15 balls on a batting paradise. And Hardik, the captain, made decisions that tilted the game away from his team. Also, when the plan was to bowl yorkers with Bumrah and Ashwini Kumar, why did Pandya not keep a fine third man to negate Iyer’s deft touches? No doubt, we shouldn’t take any credit away from Iyer’s masterclass, but Pandya didn’t play his cards right at all
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