Matheesha Pathirana and an ageless MS Dhoni delivered decisive blows as Chennai Super Kings outgunned Mumbai Indians by 20 runs despite Rohit Sharma making a resolute unbeaten 105 in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
After Dhoni hammered three consecutive sixes in the final over bowled by Hardik Pandya to race to 20 not out off just four balls to propel CSK to a huge 206 for four, Pathirana grabbed 4 for 28 to halt the chase of MI at 186 for six.
This was Mumbai's 4th defeat in 6 games during IPL 2024. Once again, fans pinpointed Hardik Pandya's performance in the match as the main reason behind MI's loss and this time, it was MI's batting coach Kieron Pollard who came forward to defend Hardik Pandya and said during the post-match press conference, "am sick and tired, fed up of [us] looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day. This is an individual who is going to represent the country in less than six weeks' time, and all are going to cheer him and want him to do well. So high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great all-rounders India has produced. He can bat, bowl and field, and has an X-factor about him,”