Irfan Pathan explodes on Hardik Pandya after the Mumbai Indians' captain brings shame to his team

Cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan mocked Hardik Pandya over his poor strike rate in the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday, March 27. MI skipper Hardik Pandya held a strike rate of 120.0 during the IPL 2024 match 8 as Mumbai Indians looked to chase down mountainous 277 vs SRH.

Hardik Pandya arrived at the crease at no.5 and scored 24 runs off 20 balls before losing his wicket to left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat. The right-handed batter smashed only 1 six and 1 four during his knock.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya ignoring Jasprit Bumrah? Former Australian legend warns the Mumbai Indians’ captain

Irfan Pathan mocks Hardik Pandya on X

After the match, Irfan Pathan took to X (Twitter) to mock Hardik Pandya over his poor strike rate against SRH. “If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120,” the former left-arm pacer wrote on X. Have a look at his tweet below.

If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 27, 2024

Interestingly, other than Pandya, all Mumbai Indians batter held a fabulous strike rate while batting. For instance, opener Rohit Sharma (216.67) and Ishan Kishan (261.54) had a strike rate of more than 200. One-down Naman Dhir (214.0) crossed a 200+ strike rate while batting.

Also Read: Ambati Rayudu opens fire at Hardik. Pandya after SRH trounce Mumbai Indians

Tilak Verma, who came at No.4, scored the most 64 runs off 34 deliveries by striking the ball at 188.24. Tim David (190.1) too had an impressive strike rate with his unbeaten 22-ball-42 knock. Romario Shepherd remained unbeaten on 15 off 6 balls, registering a strike rate of 250.0.

Chasing a record 278 in the match, Mumbai Indians made a stunning start by smacking 76 runs in the first six powerplay overs. Till the 11th over, the Hardik Pandya & Co. went past 150 runs on the board. However, they could only reach 246-5 till the final ball, losing the game by 31 runs in the end.

Also Read: Marcus Stoinis brutally punished by Cricket Australia

SRH script history to post highest-ever team total in IPL history

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad scripted history in 1st innings at their home ground Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. They piled up 277-3 in 20 overs to script the record for the highest-ever team total in IPL history. They broke RCB’s long-standing record of 263-5 in IPL 2013.

After opener Mayank Agarwal lost his wicket cheaply, Travis Head stormed 62 off 24 to demolish MI bowlers. Left-hander Abhishek Sharma smacked a blistering knock of 63 off 23 balls. Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen later stormed 42 and 80 respectively to drive the scoreboard to an inevitable total of 277-3.

Except for Jasprit Bumrah, all five Mumbai Indians bowlers leaked runs at more than 10+ economy. The Hardik Pandya & Boys have lost two games in a row in IPL 2024. Earlier, they lost to Gujarat Titans in their opening game. MI will wrestle with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their next game on Monday, April 1.