Hardik Pandya was again under the scanner for his batting flop show in the Lucknow Super Giants vs Mumbai Indians match in IPL 2024. He tried to play a drive and was dismissed without troubling the scorers. His golden duck put MI in big trouble. The visitors were already 27/3, and with Pandya’s departure, the score became 27/4. Mumbai couldn’t recover and posted 144/7 in 20 overs.
Lucknow’s chase was not easy, but the hosts rode on Marcus Stoinis ’62 runs to register another victory in the 17th season. Former India player Irfan Pathan slammed Hardik for the lack of game awareness.
“Hardik had talked about Tilak Varma’s game awareness in the game against Delhi Capitals, but where was his own game awareness against Lucknow Super Giants.
“Despite knowing that his team was in trouble, Hardik tried to hit the ball hard and was dismissed on the first delivery he faced,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.
Pathan also highlighted the all-rounder’s mistake of holding back Jasprit Bumrah in a low-scoring match. “He should have given another over to Bumrah when Marcus Stoinis was new to the crease. Hardik allowed the Aussie player to settle down by not bringing back the Bumrah. The speedster could have dismissed Stoinis,” Irfan Pathan added.