
Mumbai Indians' (MI)struggles continue in the ongoing IPL 2024 edition. In match 14, on Monday evening (April 1), the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai camp hosted Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Being asked to bat first, MI were at the bottom as RR rode onTrent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal's three-fers and two scalps from Nandre Burger to restrict them to 122/9. In reply, the one-time winners closed the game in 15.3 overs courtesy of Riyan Parag's 54 not out. After the game, Hardik shared an inspiring post for his team.
The new MI captain Hardik wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "If there's one thing you should know about this team, we never give up. We'll keep fighting, we'll keep going."
Hardik is not having a good run in the IPL 2024 edition, facing the wrath of the fans at every venue, so far, after replacing Rohit Sharma as the MI captain. His own form has been dismal, having not made any impact with the bat and the ball. Against RR, he started a counterattack after Mumbai's early blows but fell for a 21-ball 34. Questions have also been raised about his leadership, with many pointing fingers at his rotation of bowlers.
After the latest defeat, Hardik said at the post-match presentation, "Yes, a tough night, we didn't start the way we wanted to start. I wanted to counter, we were in a decent position to get us around 150-160, but my wicket allowed them to get back more into the game, I needed to do a lot more. It's okay, we didn't expect such a surface, but you can't always have it as a batter, it's nice at times for the bowlers to have a say. It's all about doing the right things, (correct) results happen at times, at some other times it doesn't. As a group, we believe we can do a lot better, but we need to be a bit more disciplined and show a lot more courage."
After three games, MI are at the bottom and will now host Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday afternoon (April 7) and will be desperate to get off the mark in the season.