"Worst ever IPL season for Mumbai Indians"- Fans react after MI finish last in the points table for second time in last 3 years
Mumbai Indians (MI) fans were highly disappointed after the franchise suffered a dismal loss in their final league match of IPL 2024 on Friday, May 17. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat them by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium and finished with 14 points in as many games.
MI finished at the bottom of the points table for the second time in IPL history. They previously suffered a similar fate in IPL 2022 as well.
Nicholas Pooran (75) and KL Rahul (55) performed well and helped LSG notch up a daunting total of 214/6 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Rohit Sharma then played a brilliant knock of 68 (38) and laid a decent platform for MI in the chase.
However, their big-hitting middle-order batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Ishan Kishan failed miserably, which derailed MI's innings. Naman Dhir played a valiant knock of 62* (28) but couldn't take his side over the line, as he didn't get any support from others.
Fans took to X after the match and expressed their disappointment following MI's loss in the IPL 2024 match against LSG. Here are some of the top reactions:
"I have asked almost all MI fans in my circle and everyone was asking for removing Hardik as captain. It made the difference, we played semifinals last year with toothless bowling attack, we could have topped the table with this squad and Rohit as caotain. MI lost many fans," a fan wrote.
"Remove Boucher and hire some good coach, man has contributed nothing in past few years, neither gave any relevant answers in press conferences," another fan wrote.
"Rohit walks back and the crowd gives him a standing ovation, but as soon as the next batter comes in, suddenly you can hear boos because it’s Hardik who has just walked in. Season is almost done, nothing has changed, it started like this, it is ending in a very similar manner. Worst ever season for MI in my opinion," a fan wrote.
"A captain who gave mi 5 trophies, in return mi gave him nothing but betrayal, that too in his farewell season with them. mi being burried at the bottom of table is such a poetic justice and a silent slap to its management. and trust me, as csk fan, i prayed for times like this," another fan noted.
"As a group, we didn't play too well and it shows in the results"- MI captain Hardik Pandya on a disappointing run in IPL 2024
After the conclusion of the match, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya reflected on his team's poor performances in IPL 2024 and said:
"I mean it was quite difficult this season. We didn't play good quality cricket which eventually cost us the whole season. It's a professional world."
He added:
"There will be good and bad days but as professional cricketers, we have to do that but as a group we didn't play too well and it shows in the results. Too early to be pointing out what went wrong. Maybe get this game done and look forward for the upcoming season."
Who all should be retained by MI management ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction? Let us know your views in the comments section below.