‘The worst kind of bowling that I've seen’ - Sunil Gavaskar lambasts Hardik Pandya after MI's loss to CSK

Mumbai Indians continue to struggle in the IPL (Indian Premier League) 2024 under the new captaincy of all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The five-time champions have only registered two wins in six games they have played so far and their latest loss came against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, and that too at their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. 

Both sides locked horns in the 29th game of the tournament, and Chennai dominated the hosts throughout the clash to eventually win it by 20 runs. The performances of skipper Hardik have put him in the firing line. Despite looking off colour against CSK, Hardik came to bowl the last over of the game, and was hit for three consecutive sixes by MS Dhoni, which saw CSK post a total of 206 in the first innings. 

Also read: Shot of the Day - MS Dhoni whacks Pandya for monstrous six at Wankhede- MI vs CSK IPL 2024

Seeing his performances and tactics, former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar was left extremely disappointed. The 74-year-old lambasted Pandya for his on-field decisions and performance, branding his captaincy as "ordinary" and his bowling as "some of the worst bowling" he has seen in a long time. 

"Probably the worst kind of bowling that I've seen for a long, long time. It almost looks like I've had this embrace with my hero. I've got the kind of deliveries that he's gonna hit for sixes. One six is fine. The next one is a length ball when you know this batter is hunting for a length ball that he wants to hit. Third ball is again a full toss on the legs when you know he [Dhoni] is looking for a six," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Also read: ‘They have a man behind the stumps telling them what's working’ - Hardik Pandya namedrops MS Dhoni while reflecting on MI’s loss to CSK

'Absolutely ordinary bowling, ordinary captaincy' - Gavaskar on Hardik Pandya

Furthermore, Gavaskar targeted Pandya’s decisions as captain against Chennai Super Kings. The former batter opined that the visitors should have been restricted to somewhere around 190 runs, but it was a completely different story after Dhoni’s final over heroics. 

"Oh, absolutely ordinary bowling, ordinary captaincy. They should have been restricted despite the fact that Ruturaj Gaikwad had batted so well along with Shivam Dube. I do believe that they should have been restricted to 185-190,” Gavaskar said.