Hardik Pandya's devastated look after Mumbai's IPL 2024 exit says it all

HARDIK PANDYA, the under-fire captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, came under intense criticism after his side lost a game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (3) that they looked strong to win at one stage. The all-rounder, who has been slammed throughout the tournament this year after replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain, was brutally roasted by a number of former cricketers, both from India and abroad.

Mumbai had Kolkata, opponents they often dominate in the IPL, in a spot by reducing them to 57 for 5 in less than seven overs. Yet, they allowed Shreyas Iyer's side to reach 169 runs and lost the game by 24 runs eventually. And as the storm of criticism was blowing, visuals of a shattered and dispirited Pandya at the MI dugout became viral on social media.

Mumbai, who have won the IPL crown for a record five times, something which only Chennai Super Kings have done, were eliminated from the race of the playoffs by losing to Kolkata, their fourth consecutive.

Read: Mumbai crash to 4th straight loss as Kolkata's Starc strikes

Pandya's team has now won only three of their 11 games to be ranked ninth among 10 teams and even if they win the remaining three matches, they will reach a maximum of 12 points but two other teams that are on the same points (Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad) at the moment are better placed in terms of net-run rate and would have to lose very badly to help Mumbai make the top four.

Read: Mumbai's Bumrah completes 50 IPL wickets at Wankhede

Mumbai's worst result came in the 2022 edition when they finished last among 10 teams.

Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Thushara's three-wicket burst up front had seen Mumbai packing half of Kolkata's batting line-up but Venkatesh Iyer's 70 and Manish Pandey's 42 brought the visitors back into the game. Jasprit Bumrah's three-wicket haul towards the end saw Kolkata losing their last four wickets for only 16 runs to get all out for 169 inside 20 overs.

Mumbai's batting never looked in touch and barring Suryakumar Yadav's 35-ball 56 and a fighting 24 off 20 by Tim David towards the end, none could negotiate well with a two-paced wicket. Kolkata's left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, the most expensive bowler of this IPL, picked four wickets as Mumbai folded for 145.

Pandya himself conceded 44 runs in four overs and took two wickets but scored only one run off three balls at crucial No.7. It has been a dull IPL for the ace all-rounder as he has scored only 198 runs at an average of less than 20 and took eight wickets at an economy rate of 11.

This was also the first time that Kolkata defeated Mumbai in their den for the first time since 2012 and only the second time in the tournament's 16-year history.