Mumbai Indians don't seem to be playing unitedly at all: Irfan Pathan

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan opined that former five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are not playing unitedly in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, after they suffered a 24-run defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, May 3 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and invited KKR to bat first in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium. The bowlers wreaked havoc upfront as the visitors lost half their side inside the seventh over, with just 57 runs on the board. Manish Pandey (42 off 31 balls) was brought in as the Impact Player, and the veteran batter stitched a crucial 83-run partnership off 62 balls alongside Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52 balls). KKR eventually finished on 169, as Nuwan Thushara and Jasprit Bumrah bagged three wickets apiece.

In reply, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals, but Suryakumar Yadav played a lone hand, scoring 56 off 35 balls to keep his team in the hunt. However, Andre Russell sent back the in-form batter in the 16th over to give massive relief to KKR fans. Mitchell Starc got the better of the dangerous Tim David in the penultimate over to bring the curtains down on Mumbai's hopes of a much-needed victory.

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After the match, Pathan was asked about his views on the home side failing to chase down 170 against a team that has conceded 200-plus runs on four occasions this season. The cricketer-turned-commentator said that the pitch had no real demons in it and that no one apart from Suryakumar showed the temperament to take MI home.

“That too at the Wankhede where the ground is small and when it gets slightly wet, the ball comes nicely onto the bat. The pitch won't always be extremely flat. It will get slightly dry. The pitch was slightly slow because of the heat but it wasn't a pitch with uneven bounce,” he said while analysing the game on Star Sports.

“Suryakumar Yadav seemed to be the only batter who could have won the game. He got out while trying to play a shot, and then Mitchell Starc took a huge wicket (Tim David's). The match was over there—Suryakumar Yadav's wicket and then Tim David. This team doesn't seem to be playing unitedly at all,” the 39-year-old added.

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After this agonising defeat, Mumbai are all but out of the race to the Playoffs. Meanwhile, KKR put one foot in the Playoffs after registering their seventh win in 10 games and their first in Wankhede after 12 years.