On Saturday evening, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders faced off in match 60 of IPL 2024 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with both sides at opposite ends of the points table.
Bet here on IPL 2024 and other cricket matches!
In a rain-shortened game, KKR put up 157/7 in 16 overs, thanks to Venkatesh Iyer (42) and Nitish Rana (33), among others. In reply, MI got off to a good start before losing their way in the middle overs to end up 18 runs short.
The loss was MI's ninth of the season in 13 matches and they currently sit in ninth place in the points table, off the bottom only on net run rate.
Only overseas players accepted Hardik Pandya as MI captain? Exploring how Mumbai Indians's IPL 2024 campaign unravelled
It has been a difficult year for the five-time champions, who made a big-money move to bring all-rounder Hardik Pandya back to the franchise from Gujarat Titans. He was subsequently appointed captain, replacing current Indian national team skipper Rohit Sharma.
[red-block widget_catalog_id="dafa_in_6" title="CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR BET WITH DAFABET" link="https://bit.ly/478lv89"]
The move has eventually not been rewarded, and if reports are to be believed, part of that is down to the poor team chemistry arriving with the decision to change captains. According to Abhishek Tripathi of Dainik Jagran, only MI's overseas players accepted Hardik as the new skipper.
At the time, it had been suggested that even if MI were looking to move on from Rohit Sharma, other senior Indian players such as Suryakumar Yadav or Jasprit Bumrah were unhappy that they were passed over in favour of Pandya. It appears that this decision may have potentially caused a rift in the camp, leading to a poor team environment and performances this year.
With the T20 World Cup around the corner in 20 days' time, Indian fans will be hoping none of this affects the team's performance in the USA and West Indies.
[red-button widget_catalog_id="dafa_in_5" link="https://bit.ly/478lv89" logo_name="DAFABET" game_title="BEST CRICKET ODDS AND OFFERS" button_text="CLICK TO BET"]
[/red-button]