Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has criticised Hardik Pandya for his captaincy during Mumbai Indians' defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians, five-time IPL champions, went down by 18 runs in a high-scoring contest at the Wankhede Stadium. RCB piled up a massive 240/4 on the back of half-centuries from Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar.
In reply, Pandya played a brisk knock of 40 off 22 balls and added a crucial partnership with Sherfane Rutherford, who smashed 71 off just 31 deliveries. Despite their efforts, MI could only reach 222/5 in 20 overs.
While Pandya contributed with both bat and ball, Ashwin felt that his on-field decisions cost MI the game. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin pointed to a key tactical error of bringing leg-spinner Mayank Markande into the attack when Patidar was well set.
In support of his argument, Ashwin showed a scorecard of an IPL 2024 clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB, where Patidar had taken Markande apart, smashing four sixes in an over. A similar pattern emerged on Sunday, with Patidar hitting three sixes in one over off the same bowler.
"This SRH vs RCB 2024 game was where Rajat Patidar announced that he is a spin hitter. He was hitting Markande into every corner," Ashwin said in the video.
"There are some common things between these two big overs. The first ball was taken by Virat Kohli, he took a single, and everything else was the same. There he hit four sixes, here he hit three," Ashwin highlighted.
According to Ashwin, the decision to bowl Markande in that situation was questionable. The leg-spinner ended up conceding 40 runs in just two overs, further tilting the game in RCB's favour.
"Rajat Patidar is a monster hitter against spinners. When he came to bat, you gave the ball to Markande straight away? Not the smartest of moves. Very, very average."
"It is very important to understand what Markande thinks. Patidar hit him and washed him in Hyderabad, and here, he hit him from the very first ball again." he explained.
The defeat has left MI lingering at eighth place on the IPL points table only ahead of Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are third on the tally with three wins and one loss.
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