Hardik Pandya equals dubious record with the ball in MI vs GT IPL 2025 match
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya equalled a dubious record with the ball in the IPL 2025 match against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday. He bowled the joint-longest over in IPL history.
Hardik Pandya came on to bowl the eighth over during Gujarat's chase at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The first delivery went for a single, and the second ball was hit for a boundary, while the third ball went for another single. However, the fourth delivery was a wide, and when he reloaded the delivery, it turned out to be a no-ball.
The free-hit delivery was another wide and had to be bowled again. While it looked as though Hardik Pandya had gotten away with the free-hit, he overstepped again. When the fourth delivery was finally bowled, it went for a six. The fifth ball went for a single while the final ball was another wide and had to be bowled again.
The MI skipper bowled 11 deliveries in the over and conceded 18 runs. He equalled an unwanted record of bowling the joint longest over in IPL, bowling three wides and two no-balls. Previously, bowlers such as Tushar Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Sandeep Sharma, and Shardul Thakur have also achieved this unwanted feat.
Shardul and Sandeep's instance came this season, while Tushar and Siraj achieved the unwanted record in 2023.
Hardik Pandya has been successful with the ball this season
Hardik Pandya did achieve an unwanted feat with the bat in the IPL during the game against GT. However, he has played a vital role with the ball for MI overall this season.
The medium pacer has grabbed 13 wickets from 11 games at an average of 19.76, a strike-rate of 12.9, and an economy rate of 9.17. Hardik has not scored a lot with the bat this season but has been impressive with the ball.
It has reflected in their turnaround as well, as they have seven wins from 11 games and 14 points after having lost four of their first five matches. They are now key contenders to not only qualify for the playoffs but also go on to lift their sixth IPL title.