IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya Throws Tilak Varma Under the Bus for Defeat Against Delhi Capitals

Hardik Pandya blames Tilak Varma for the defeat against Delhi Capitals.

The high-voltage IPL 2024 clash between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians on Saturday, April 27th, 2024, saw Rishabh Pant’s side clinching a narrow 10 runs victory.

However, post-match comments by Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya have created a controversy. While acknowledging Tilak Varma’s valiant efforts , which saw him scoring 63 runs in just 32 balls, Pandya reportedly pointed out that Varma, being a left-hander, could have been more aggressive against left-arm spinner Axar Patel.

Here’s what Hardik Pandya said in the post-match conference:

“If I had to pick something out, we could have taken a couple of more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers could have probably gone after Axar a little bit, it’s something we missed out in terms of game awareness.”

Tilak Varma’s knock was instrumental in bringing Mumbai Indians back into the contest after a shaky start. He stitched a crucial partnership with Hardik Pandya himself, showcasing exceptional power-hitting and maintaining a healthy strike rate. The southpaw was eventually dismissed by Axar Patel on the first delivery of the final over, when he looked all set to finish the game.

Mumbai Indians have lost six matches out of the nine they played so far. They need to win all their remaining five games to keep themselves alive in the competition.