Boos Continue For Hardik
There were unprecedented scenes at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as Hardik Pandya, captaining MI stepped out for the toss against Rajasthan Royals. The boos for Hardik could be heard, but when Sanjay Manjrekar, the anchor, asked the crowd to cheer for Hardik, the boos got louder instead. Hardik tried to put up a brave face, but one can imagine what he would be going through. The wrath of fans is a bitter pill to swallow and with the team not doing well, the problem gets further compounded. The emotional Mumbai Indian fan looks in no mood to forgive and move forward.
The IPL 2024 is moving forward though and so are the teams, with the exception of Mumbai Indians. They faced their third consecutive defeat and are stuck at the bottom of the heap, yet to record a win, after being jolted by a brilliant Trent Boult, yesterday night.
Trent ‘ Virtuoso ‘ Boult
Trent Boult, is a master of his art. The left-arm phenomenal swing bowler has an uncanny knack of snaring a wicket in his first over and since IPL 2020, Trent Boult has taken 24 wickets in the very first over he has bowled, far ahead of the 8 taken by Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Yesterday night was no different as Boult produced two brilliant deliveries to take 2 wickets in the first over.
Two Brilliant Deliveries
Rohit Sharma, edged one to the keeper. The ball moved away after pitching and Rohit expecting the ball to swing into him, played inside the line to nick one. It was superb execution from Boult. Next walked in Naman Dhir, an impressive player from Punjab but the poor batter fell the very next ball. This time, the ball tailed in sharply after pitching, beating the bat and striking the pad. A clueless Dhir departed LBW and MI had lost two wickets in the first over. Boult’s control was exceptional as if the ball was at his command and the batters just didn’t know where the ball could move after pitching, such was the guile of Trent Boult.
MI’s Decision With Zero Impact
MI, then made a terrible knee jerk decision. Dewald Brewis, was immediately sent as the impact substitute to bolster the batting, despite the fact that MI still had a pretty strong batting line up to follow ( and are you ever going to give Tim David some serious time at the crease ? ). The extremely nervy Brewis became Boult’s 3 rd scalp of the day. He just aimlessly hung out his bat to a ball leaving him and steered it to gully for a simple catch. The impact sub left on the first ball he faced. Nandre Burger, the young speedster from South Africa, then produced a real ripper to pluck out Ishan Kishan. The quick delivery was too good for Kishan, who was squared up and edged to the keeper. With 20/4, the match was virtually over.
Easy For Royals In The End
Captain ( under duress ) Hardik Pandya and the ever consistent Tilak Verma stitched a brief partnership. But once they departed to the wily Chahal, MI just capitulated to 125/9 in 20 overs. Rajasthan Royals too lost their openers early, but Riyan Parag, the story of the IPL so far, held his nerve and ensured a comfortable win for the Royals, their third, in as many games. With a potent bowling attack and a revelation in Riyan Parag ( His two sixes of Gerald Coetzee, one over extra cover and one over mid wicket were pure gems ), the Royals are looking good even though Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, the deadly duo at the top are yet to fire.
A Boulted MI Needs To Break Free
Mumbai Indians are unable to put a good bowling and batting display together. The miffed fans are further accentuating the problem, by giving their own captain a harsh time. This will only create further trouble for the team and dent its confidence. The fans need to back their skipper. Though, MI, on paper atleast have great batting strength, their bowling is the weaker ally. Barring Bumrah, the pace bowlers in Coetzee, Kwena Maphaka and Akash Madhwal are very inexperienced. Piyush Chawla, all of 35 now, is past his prime with his leg spinners and looks easy meat. Coach Mark Boucher and Captain Hardik Pandya have a huge job at hand to resurrect MI’s already ‘ Boulted ‘ campaign. They are playing Delhi next on Sunday.
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Featured Image : Trent Boult
A very interesting narrative on this IPL match. This blog from Riz Khan’s pen aptly highlights the pressure on the home team from the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium and how the MI batters simply crumbled to the bowling of Trent Boult – a learning experience for all aspiring cricketers.👌👌