3 biggest lessons for MI New York after Eliminator exit in MLC 2024
Defending champions MI New York got eliminated from the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 after losing against the Texas Super Kings in the Eliminator game on Wednesday, July 24.
Kieron Pollard’s side didn't have a campaign to remember, as they struggled throughout the group stage and just managed to qualify for the knockouts.
In the Eliminator, the Texas Super Kings won the toss and invited the MI New York to bat first. MI had a poor start, as they lost their two key overseas batters, Dewald Brevis (0) and Nicholas Pooran (8), within the first four overs.
Monank Patel played a decent hand of 48 runs off 41 balls, while Rashid Khan was brilliant. The Afghanistan T20I team captain smashed 55 runs off 30 balls, hitting four boundaries and four maximums. The MI New York finished at 163/8 in their 20 overs.
In response, Texas Super Kings openers Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis stitched together a 101-run partnership in 76 balls. Du Plessis scored 72 runs off 47 balls, hitting six boundaries and three sixes.
Devon Conway (51 off 43 balls) and Aaron Hardie (40 off 22 balls) finished the game for the Super Kings, winning by nine wickets with nine balls remaining.
This defeat eliminated the defending champions from the tournament. In this article, we will look at the three biggest lessons for MI New York after the Eliminator exit in MLC 2024.
#1 Rashid Khan cannot win every game for the franchise
The MI New York was overly dependent on Rashid Khan throughout the tournament. The poor form of the batters meant that Rashid had to do a lot of heavy lifting, and he didn’t disappoint. Khan came in to bat at No. 5 in the big Eliminator and scored a brilliant half-century, but other batters didn’t help the MI New York.
Rashid remained the second-highest run-scorer for the MI team in MLC 2024 with 162 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 178, including two fifties.
New York also struggled with their bowling depth in the tournament, with Rashid Khan having to do most of the work. The leg-spinner ended the tournament with the most wickets for MI with 10 scalps in seven games.
Rashid was brilliant in the tournament, but over-reliance on a few key players didn't help any team win the competition, and the same happened with the MI New York.
#2 MI New York needs some dependable middle-order batters
The MI New York batters had a very poor tournament with the bat. This is justified by the fact that Rashid, who primarily batted at Nos. 7 and 8, was the New York team's second-highest scorer.
Nicholas Pooran started the tournament brilliantly; he scored 62 runs against the Seattle Orcas in 37 balls in the opening game. His performance dipped considerably after that, as he only managed to score 118 runs in the next six innings.
The overseas batters struggled big time for MI, including captain Kieron Pollard, who only scored 63 runs in seven innings, with 33 coming in the last group-stage match. US players like Monank Patel and Ruben Clinton also struggled in the tournament. Overall, it was a disappointing season with the bat for New York.
A strong middle order is critical in T20 cricket. Given the MI New York's breakdowns at crucial points, more middle-order batters, who can anchor the innings and accelerate when needed, are important.
MI will be looking to bring some more experienced players in the next season who can add depth to their batting order.
#3 Time to move on from Kieron Pollard
It's safe to say that Kieron Pollard is no longer at his best. Lack of game time was noticeable in his performance, given that the player stepped down from international cricket in 2022 and has been coaching in the Indian Premier League for the last two years.
The 37-year-old only scored 63 runs in seven innings and wasn’t as sharp as he used to be on the field. In the next season, New York may have to make the difficult decision of not selecting Pollard. This presents an opportunity to add another young player to the squad who is consistently performing at the highest level.
Having led Afghanistan to the 2024 T20 World Cup semifinal, Rashid Khan possesses sufficient experience to lead the team. In their current form, players like Tim David, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje are more valuable to the MI New York than Pollard.