Hardik Pandya and MI players incurred slow over-rate penalties during the encounter against LSG on Tuesday.
Hardik Pandya and the Mumbai Indians’ troubles appear to be far from over. Hours after suffering their sixth defeat in the 2017 Indian Premier League season against Lucknow Super Giants, their skipper Hardik, along with the entire playing XI, were fined for sustaining a sluggish overrate throughout the match. Hardik was fined INR 24 lakh for the squad’s second infraction of the season, while each member of the playing team received an INR 6 lakh penalty.
“Mr. Hardik Pandya, Captain, Mumbai Indians, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on April 30, 2024,” the IPL said in a statement.
Pandya was fined ₹24 lakh for his team’s second violation of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for minimum over-rate offenses this season.
“The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either INR 6 Lac or 25 percent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser,” the statement went on to say.
The Mumbai Indians had another dismal showing on Tuesday night, being reduced to 144/7 after being assigned to bat by KL Rahul. Hardik Pandya, who was named India’s vice captain for the T20 World Cup earlier in the day, went for a first-ball duck. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, however, struggled to make an impact, hitting only four runs off five deliveries.
MI has had a turbulent season, dealing with both off-field problems and on-field challenges. Their troubles are compounded by skipper Hardik’s struggles with both bat and ball. In ten matches, the all-rounder has only six wickets, with an economy rate of 11, adding to MI’s difficulties.
Hardik is yet to reach a half-century with the bat; he has 197 runs in 10 innings this season, with a strike rate of 150.38.
Playoff prospects are diminishing
MI are effectively out of contention for IPL 2024 playoff slots, sitting ninth in the table with six points. While they are four points behind fourth-placed CSK, the latter have played one fewer match.
Furthermore, all four of MI’s remaining matches are against teams in serious contention for the top four slots, including the Kolkata Knight Riders (twice), Sunrisrs Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants.
