Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has torn into the Mumbai Indians after their 30-run loss to the Rajasthan Royals, which capped off a dismal season for the five-time champions.
After being dented early while chasing 206, MI made a late recovery in the chase, but slipped up from a dominant position where they needed 60 runs off 34 balls.
“At the Wankhede Stadium, if you need 60 runs off 34 balls, I think Mumbai Indians would usually chase it down. But the problem was, yes, that’s where things went wrong,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin pointed to Hardik Pandya, who scored a quickfire 15-ball 34. The former cricketer spoke of Pandya’s earlier role as a spin-hitter with the Titans, while also noting how his game has regressed against hard-length bowling. Hardik has had an underwhelming season, scoring just 206 runs at a strike rate of 138.26, and picking up just four wickets at an economy rate of 11.43
“Hardik hit well today, even against the spinners. If you remember, for Gujarat Titans, Hardik used to bat at number four or sometimes number five, and he used to take down the spinners. I think I said it in the commentary box too, Hardik looks like he has a small problem with the hard-length ball. I don’t know why, could be fatigue, could be an injury. I said something about this last time too. He got out, mishitting a short, slower ball from Jofra Archer. I think the game turned right there because the partnership of Hardik and Surya would have chased that down, but they were just not able to accelerate,” he added.
Ashwin further stated that this has been a ‘strange’ season for MI, which has followed a trend of their team being structured in ways which do not get the best out of the top players. He further stated that this form could continue into the following season if they are not able to fix these issues.
“This Mumbai Indians team felt a bit strange. I don’t know. It cannot be easy. Given their quality, maybe they can come back and play well next year, but I won’t be surprised if they find it tough for one more year. Because of the way their team is structured, it looks like a lot of people are not at their best. I don’t know what it is, but they are not looking at their best. So, I was surprised this year, but next year I won’t be surprised. Next year, even if Mumbai Indians give a middling performance, I wouldn’t be surprised. It has been a very disappointing performance,” he said.
The five-time champions have finished ninth on the points table, with just four wins from their 14 games.