In a high-stakes IPL showdown, Mumbai Indians fell short against Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs despite a stellar century by Rohit Sharma.
Cricketing pundits hailed Dhoni’s vintage performance, particularly his onslaught against MI’s captain Hardik Pandya, slamming 20 runs off just 4 balls, including three sixes in an over. Pandya’s bowling, described as clueless and Sunil Gavaskar Criticizes Hardik Pandya’s Bowling and Captaincy as Mumbai Indians Suffer Defeat ordinary by Gavaskar, played into Dhoni’s hands with length deliveries that the veteran batsman capitalized on.
“Probably the worst kind of bowling that I’ve seen for a long, long time. It almost looks like I’ve had this embrace with my hero. I’ve got a bowling kind of deliveries that he’s gonna hit for sixes. One 6 is fine. The next one again a length ball when you know that this batter is looking for a length ball to hit. The third ball again, a full toss on the leg side and he’s looking for it and hits it for a 6. Absolutely ordinary bowling, ordinary captaincy,” Gavaskar said during his analysis in the mid-innings break.
MI’s playoff hopes are now under threat with each loss, especially with away matches looming ahead.
Meanwhile, Pathirna earned accolades for his pivotal spell, claiming crucial wickets including Ishan Kishan, SKY, Tilak Verma, and Romario Shepherd, effectively dismantling MI’s batting lineup.