Removing Rohit Sharma from the captaincy has not worked at all for Mumbai Indians so far. The five-time champions have lost both their matches so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 under the leadership of Hardik Pandya.
While they lost their first game against Gujarat Titans By the slimmest of margins, Mumbai Indians were beaten by 31 runs at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday (March 27). Although they fought hard in the second innings, they seemed clueless in the first innings.
Mumbai Indians chose to play first and paid a heavy price for their poor decision. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batsmen took the bowlers to cleanliness right from the start and ensured that they outclassed their opponents. Hardik Pandya’s captaincy was also not looking very good.
The all-rounder did not rotate his players correctly and did not manage to put pressure on the opponent from the beginning. Mistakes were exploited by the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen as they progressed from the word and there was only one where a boundary was not hit.
Based on the strong batting performance of Travis Head (62), Abhishek Sharma (63), Aiden Markram (42*) and Heinrich Klaasen (80*), Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a mammoth total of 277 runs on board. Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, Mumbai conceded the highest total in the history of the league.
Rohit Sharma (26) along with Ishan Kishan (34) started on a positive note in the chase and made sure to stay in the hunt. Naman Dhir (30) and Tilak Varma (64) kept fans’ hopes alive with their 84 runs. But after his wickets, things slowed down.
Hardik Pandya (24) and Tim David (42*) did not look at their fluid best as they failed to score runs freely and allowed SRH to take control. Mumbai Indians managed 245 runs and lost the game by a margin of 31 runs to suffer their second consecutive defeat.
Watch: Akash Ambani has lively chat with Rohit Sharma after Mumbai’s loss to Hyderabad
After Mumbai Indians lost their second consecutive game of IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya’s leadership has come under scrutiny. Fans started taunting him with the name Rohit Sharma and there were calls to return the lead to the senior batsman.
Rohit Sharma, notably, was removed as captain of the team ahead of IPL 2024. It came as a surprise to many because the senior batsman made the team the most successful franchise of the tournament. Under his leadership, the team won five titles during the period 2013-2023.
As Mumbai Indians suffered a disappointing defeat against Sunrisers the Hyderabad, franchise owner Akash Ambani was seen chatting animatedly with Rohit Sharma. The duo became involved in an argument and caused many to speculate about the team’s leadership. Here is the video:
pic.twitter.com/CEk3nKAfDS
– ꜱᴀʙʀɪɴᴀ 🦋 (@Rose_princess67) March 27, 2024
Mumbai Indians will be seen in action next when they take on Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on April 1. They would be eager to achieve a good result in the tournament.