IPL 2021: Irfan Pathan says, Hardik Pandya 'needs to show responsibility as batter' for MI

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan took to social media on Wednesday and expressed his views on Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Pathan wrote on Twitter that if Hardik isn't bowling in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), he needs to show some responsibility with the bat. Pathan's comment came after Hardik Pandya failed to score runs in the four games that he has played for Mumbai so far in IPL 2021. Hardik Pandya is not bowling in IPL 2021 because of injury concerns and also has not contributed with the bat as expected.  

Hardik Pandya has scored just 35 runs in the 4 games that he has played for Mumbai Indians this season. Pandya's average in IPL 2021 is 8.75 and his highest individual score is 15. Pandya has scored just 5 boundaries this year with no maximums under his name. Mumbai Indians middle-order batsmen, including Kieron Pollard, have failed to score runs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Mumbai Indians have a solid batting line-up but their collapse in the middle-overs in the past couple of games has been very expensive for the five-time champions. 

Mumbai vs Delhi

Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bat first. Skipper Rohit Sharma opened the batting with Quinton de Kock. The South African wicketkeeper-batsman got out early as he was dismissed by Marcus Stoinis in the third over for just 2 runs. Sharma stayed on the pitch and smashed an amazing 44 off 30 balls before he was dismissed by Amit Mishra. Suryakumar Yadav scored 24 off 15, while Ishan Kishan scored 26 off 28 balls before they were sent back to the pavilion. Mumbai's middle-order batsmen Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard failed to get going as they lost their wickets early to Amit Mishra. Mumbai finished the inning at a low score of 137 for 9. 

Delhi suffered an early blow as well after their opener Prithvi Shaw was dismissed by Jayant Yadav for just 7 runs in the second over of the second inning. However, Shikhar Dhawan remained on the crease and made sure to score some runs before getting out. Dhawan scored 45 off 42 and also retained the Orange Cap in the process. Dhawan was dismissed by spinner Rahul Chahar. Australian batsman Steve Smith also made some contributions with the bat as he scored 33 off 29 balls before being dismissed lbw by Kieron Pollard. Shimron Hetmyer finished the game for Delhi alongside Lalit Yadav, who scored an important 22 off 25 balls. Hetmyer levelled the score with a boundary and needed just 1 run to win before Pollard bowled a no-ball to end the game. 

(Image Credit: IrfanPathan/Twitter/PTI)