Hardik Pandya and his Mumbai Indians teammates had a difficult day on the job. The previous IPL champions suffered a humiliating 9-wicket defeat to the Rajasthan Royals in one of the most one-sided games of the Indian Premier League season.
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians found themselves at 52/4, once again in deep trouble. If not for Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera’s 99-run stand, the scoreline would have been significantly worse.
Yashasvi Jaiswal capitalised on the Mumbai Indians’ poor bowling to score his second IPL century. The left-handed hitter reached his century mark with a single and let out a tremendous roar, much to the delight of the sold-out audience.
Here are three changes that the Mumbai Indians make ahead of their upcoming game against the Delhi Capitals.
1. Allow Nehal Wadhera to begin the batting for the Mumbai Indians.
Ishan Kishan hasn’t been in terrific form with the bat in recent matches. In a critical game of the season, the 25-year-old failed to impress with the bat once more and was out for a duck.
Nehal Wadhera, in his debut IPL 2024 game, scored 49 runs off 24 balls to help MI post a good score. Because Ishan Kishan is under pressure, it may be worthwhile to try Nehal Wadhera at the top of the order, with Ishan Kishan serving as a finisher in the middle order.
2. Hardik Pandya should bat at No. 4.
It has been mystifying why Hardik Pandya is not batting higher up the order. With the Gujarat Titans, he frequently batted at number three and number four.
Also read: IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians 1st innings highlights against RR in Match 38
While Suryakumar Yadav cannot be moved from the third spot, Hardik Pandya may be better suited to bat at number four. Tilak Varma can bat at number five, acting as an enforcer with the bat and providing MI with much-needed batting power.
3. They need to practice hard on their fielding.
The Mumbai Indians struggled with the ball, but their fielding was far worse. Three easy chances were missed, and RR took advantage of a couple schoolboy blunders to score some runs.
The Mumbai Indians, given their potential and quality, should be one of the top teams in the park. The team showed no will to fight, allowing the Royals to easily win and extend their lead at the top of the table.
India
