In a high-scoring clash between Mumbai Indians-MI and Sunrisers Hyderabad-SRH in the IPL 2024, the MI team suffered a significant setback as they failed to chase down SRH’s formidable target of 278 runs, ultimately losing by 31 runs in Hyderabad on Thursday. This defeat marks MI’s second consecutive loss in the current season.
Following the match, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan didn’t hold back his criticism of MI captain Hardik Pandya’s performance, particularly focusing on his strike rate. Taking to social media Irfan Pathan wrote, “If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.”
Pandya’s innings of 24 runs off 20 balls, with a strike rate of 120, stood in stark contrast to the aggressive strike rates of his teammates. Notably, openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan set the tone with strike rates of 216.67 and 261.54, respectively, while middle-order batsmen Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma maintained high strike rates of 214.29 and 188.24.
The match witnessed a plethora of batting records being shattered, with SRH posting the highest total in IPL history – 277/3, surpassing the previous record held by RCB. This monumental total ranks as the third-highest in men’s T20 cricket history. Notably, the match witnessed a T20 world record of 38 sixes collectively hit by both teams.
SRH’s innings was characterised by stellar performances from Travis Head, who smashed 62 runs off 24 balls, Abhishek Sharma with a blistering 63 off 23 deliveries, and Heinrich Klaasen, who remained unbeaten on 80 runs off 34 balls. Former SRH captain Aiden Markram contributed with an unbeaten 42 runs.
