Hardik Pandya criticised for not bowling final over vs GT: 'You are the captain, you are used to such conditions'

Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) served a thriller at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match went up to the last before the visitors secured a three-wicket win. It was a chaotic game littered with mistakes that also witnessed interruptions due to rain; however, in the end, Shubman Gill’s GT held their nerves to complete the task and climb to the top of the points table.

The crushing home defeat leaves Hardik Pandya’s MI in fourth place with two more games to go. With the race for the IPL 2025 playoffs heating up, Mumbai Indians must be regretting the loss, considering how tight it has become at the top of the table. They are still very much in the race, but one bad result from here can ruin things.

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Cricket experts, including Murali Kartik and Katey Martin, felt MI skipper Hardik Pandya should have bowled the final over instead of Deepak Chahar where they failed to defend 15 runs. Due to rain, the 156-run target for GT was revised to 147 as the match was reduced to a 19-over game.

Rahul Tewatia and Gerald Coetzee were at the crease for the Titans in the final over. Hardik must have been confident that powerplay expert Chahar would be able to complete the task, but the move backfired as Coetzee hit him for a six and GT crossed the line on the final ball.

Exeprts criticise Hardik Pandya final over decision

Pandya’s decision to give the final pressure over to Chahar when he had only bowled one over in the game did not go down well with the experts. Former India spinner Murali Kartik felt that even if Pandya had given 18 runs in his first over, he should have bowled the final over as well because he has the experience of doing so on numerous occasions, and he is the captain.

“He (Pandya) should have bowled. You are the captain, you are used to such conditions,” Murali Kartik told Cricbuzz. “Just because you had one bad over doesn’t mean it stops you from having a great over the second time. Because that is what good bowlers do. One spell doesn’t make or break them. I would have wanted the skipper himself because he is used to it.

“Ideally, if Arshad hadn’t been used, he could have used him, but he didn’t have the option. Think of the trade-off between Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya. Chahar is brilliant with the first six but that (bowling in death) is not something that he does. So I would have still preferred Hardik Pandya for that over. Even if it finished in the first four balls, I would have still preferred Hardik Pandya because he is used to it.”

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Katey Martin also felt the same, as she expressed her views on an ESPNCricinfo show. “Yes (sending Deepak Chahar was a mistake). I think Hardik typically bowls the pressure over and I understand that he went for a few early.”

Gilchrist feels MI can still reach playoffs

Legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist added that there’s no need for MI to panic yet, as they are very well placed to qualify for the playoffs if they continue playing well.

“They are still the most potent all-round team, Mumbai. They have most bases covered. Tilak is having a little bit of challenging runs, so maybe he needs a bit of boosting. They are still well-positioned,” Gilchrist told Cricbuzz.

“This may not be a bad thing to happen. A wake-up call. The coach will say there’s our standard that we have been following so far, we fell back down, so let’s get back up there.”