Watch- Lasith Malinga ignores Hardik Pandya after SRH humiliate Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach, Lasith Malinga, expressed clear dissatisfaction with skipper Hardik Pandya following their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Lasith Malinga was disappointed with the team’s lackluster bowling performance against SRH batters.

Since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, drama has unfolded within the Mumbai Indians camp following the appointment of Hardik Pandya as captain, succeeding Rohit Sharma, who led the team to five IPL titles (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020).

The Mumbai team suffered losses in their first two matches of the season. Their first defeat was against the Gujarat Titans by a narrow margin of six runs. They faced another defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring encounter on Wednesday, March 27.

Watch – Lasith Malinga Ignores Hardik Pandya In Dugout

Dramatic videos emerging from the Mumbai Indians’ camp, captured on camera, are overshadowing the losses in the ongoing marquee tournament. These videos suggest that not everything is going smoothly within their self-proclaimed ‘one family’ setup.

A viral clip circulating on social media captures Lasith Malinga abruptly leaving as Hardik Pandya approaches batting coach Kieron Pollard for a discussion.

Even Malinga looks unhappy with their new captain. #SRHvMI pic.twitter.com/tmhLGnmgIt

— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) March 27, 2024

Hardik Pandya is currently enduring criticism from fans and facing relentless trolling on social media. Nevertheless, the MI skipper remains determined to silence his doubters with a strong performance with both bat and ball in the upcoming matches of the IPL 2024.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bowl first. Luke Wood was replaced by Kwena Maphaka in their playing XI. Meanwhile, SRH made two changes, with Jaydev Unadkat and Travis Head coming in for T Natarajan and Marco Jansen, respectively.

The decision to bowl first backfired as Travis Head set the record for the fastest fifty in IPL history for an SRH batter. Shortly after, Abhishek Sharma surpassed Head’s record. Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen then guided SRH to a record-breaking score of 277/3.

Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan provided a strong start, but the Mumbai team faltered in their chase. Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir offered resistance by adding 84 runs for the third wicket. However, the Mumbai team fell short by 31 runs, managing only 246/5.

It Was Tough Out There – Hardik Pandya

Speaking after the match, Hardik Pandya acknowledged the challenge posed by SRH’s strong batting performance. Pandya emphasized the opportunity for learning and improvement for the young bowling attack in future matches.

“Not really (thought SRH would score 277 at the toss). Wicket was good, 277 no matter how bad or good you bowl, if the opposition has to score that much, they have batted well. They (the bowlers) were good, it was tough out there, almost 500 runs were scored and the wicket was helping the batters, we could have done a few things here and there, but having said that, we have a young bowling attack and we will learn,” Hardik Pandya said.

The Hardik Pandya-led side currently occupies the second-bottom position in the 10-team points table. They aim to secure their first win in the upcoming match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 1.

Also read: Not Hardik Pandya’s return!! Lasith Malinga reveals the best thing to happen to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024