CHENNAI: When Kwena Maphaka, playing his first IPL match, was smashed for 20 runs in his second over by Travis Head, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya had only one choice in his hand.
At that point, Maphaka had bowled two and Hardik himself had bowled one with SRH racing to 40/0.
Enter, Jasprit Bumrah. Six balls, one two, two dots and three singles. SRH four overs 45/0, a regular powerplay score on most batting pitches. The result: Hardik got the wicket of Mayank Agarwal on the first delivery of the next over, giving his team a breather. At least that is what the MI captain would have thought. But Head didn't. Short ball, dispatched, full toss, driven down and length, muscled through the off-side — three fours in as many balls and SRH were back on track.
Now, this was where Hardik, perhaps, could have stuck with Bumrah for one more over. That is what Mumbai Indians have done historically since Bumrah became their lone arsenal in death. MI will start with their weak link of a seamer, thinking it would allow them to settle in. Two overs later, Bumrah would come in, trying to provide the first breakthrough if there had not been any so far. If he takes a wicket, Bumrah will bowl the sixth over to see if he can double down. Then, he will come back for one over between 10-14 if needed and if he doesn't, will bowl the remaining two in the death overs. This is MI's set template. And it has, to an extent, worked for them as well.
Wednesday, however, was different. On a pitch where there was nothing to help the bowlers, where Head had been middling every ball that had come his way, where Bumrah was the only bowler not to be hit for a boundary in the first five overs, it was the chance for Hardik to keep on Bumrah for one more over and see if he can get rid of the Australian.
The MI skipper had other ideas. He brought in Gerald Coetzee, and that ended up setting the tone for the rest of the innings. The South African's first over, and last one in the powerplay, read: 1nb, 6, 1, 4, 4, 6, 1 — that 23-run over took SRH to 81/1 in the first six. Even then, Hardik did not bring back Bumrah. He went to Piyush Chawla while keeping Coetzee on as the carnage continued. Yes, Head got out to Coetzee against the run of play, but even then Hardik did not turn to his best bowler. He brought himself on and then tried to slide in one more over of Maphaka, who once again went for 20 runs, thanks to Abhishek Sharma.
One could argue it might not have made much of a difference when some of the top batters in the world were in full flow. And it would be valid too. At the same time, it is hard not to look at the situation and say what is the point of being defensive and not use the best bowler in the world when you have him. Even as Bumrah came back and finished his four overs with 0/36, that Hardik did not make the most of him and left the last over to Shams Mulani summed up the kind of day MI had on the field as SRH posted a record IPL total of 277/3.
A lot has been said about Hardik's captaincy, with visuals of him looking restless trending on social media. For the record, he had led Gujarat Titans to two finals, including the title triumph in one. So, it is not like he doesn't have the experience.
Meanwhile, it is hard not to wonder whether all the external noise — including the abuse and slurs he received in Ahmedabad — had got to him. So much so that, Rohit Sharma, who hardly got involved on the field against GT, could be seen setting the fields while Hardik was guarding the boundary. Irrespective of whether MI chase down this record total or not, after the game, they would be back at the drawing board and see how proactive and adaptive Hardik can become, come the home game against Rajasthan Royals on Monday.
