The most successful team in the IPL lost to the defending champions, Gujarat. GT vs MI did not go as per plan for Rohit Sharma and co. Another century by Shubman Gill meant that the Gujarat Titans won another game with ease. And would now playing their second consecutive final, to lift their second consecutive IPL title!!
However, the Mumbai Indians had a good chance to secure a spot in the final. But they let themselves and their fans down. And it was by doing things that could have been really avoided. And the fans were really unhappy watching some of these things unfold right in front of them.
GT Vs MI: Here are 5 huge errors by the Mumbai Indians; not just in this game, but overall, that could have been avoided for sure!!
5. GT vs MI: Tim David should have taken Shubman Gill’s catch!!
Tim David had the chance of ending Shubman Gill’s innings on a meagre score of 30. In the GT vs MI match, a tough but potential chance came towards the Aussie power-hitter, who failed to hold on to the ball. Had he done that in the first chance that he got, it could have been a huge wicket.
And this could have given the visitors an advantage and put breaks on GT’s scoring. But what rather followed was a miserable evening for the Mumbai Indian bowlers.
4. Signing one of the worst players in the IPL; Chris Jordan
Chris Jordan may have won the World Cup with England. But, he is indeed one of the worst players to ever play in the IPL. The so-called all-rounder has been totally useless with both bat and ball. And it seems that his contribution in this tournament is worse than NIL.
Talk about the irony and the way he plays for England, the passion, ambition and thought-process is totally lacking for him in this competition. And not just for the Mumbai Indians. He has been this poor previously for the Kings XI Punjab as well.
To add to the fact that he does not contribute with the bat or ball, he also took out of his own. Ishan Kishan was injured by Chris Jordan’s elbow in a freak accident that took him out of the match. The wicket-keeper and opening batsman of the Mumbai Indians was so badly injured that he had to be replaced by Vishnu Vinod, who came on as a concussion substitute.
And all this from a player who had come in to replace a multi-crore signing in Jofra Archer!! I would rather see Arjun Tendulkar get smashed around the park!!
Chris Jordan has played a total of 34 IPL matches. He has scored 81 runs in 13 Innings. Jordan’s highest score in the IPL is 30, at an average of 8.10 and a strike-rate of 105.19. Further, he has picked 30 wickets in 34 games. His bowling average is 35.67, while his economy is 9.61. He has best figures of 4/11 and that’s about it!!
3. GT vs MI: Nehal Wadera shouldn’t have been sacrificed as an opener
Once Ishan Kishan was out of the picture, things were just going from bad to worse. Though Kishan’s form was a bit dicey in itself, but on his given day, he could take the game away from any side. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case on the night. He was struck near his eye and it was just a calamity from that point on.
Not the way that the upcoming Indian star and one of the costliest players amongst the Mumbai Indians’ ranks would have liked to have gone off. But it was what it was. And he just could not continue. Talk about bad luck and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (RCB jinx, hahaha reference)!!
But, in stepped Nehal Wadera, the IMPACT SUB. He was the player in form in the previous few matches and was carrying the team. Nehal had made a huge impact in the absence of Tilak Varma. However, he shouldn’t have been the man to be sacrificed up top, when he was doing quite well down the order.
Unfortunately, in hindsight we can say it was a failed ploy. But the Mumbai Indians tried something different that didn’t come off. Frankly Chris Jordan (as a pinch hitter) or Vishnu Vinod (who was later confirmed as a concussion sub) were other options to open, along with Cameron Green as well. However, Rohit Sharma chose otherwise. And the result was a failure at the top for Wadhera.
2. Rohit Sharma’s lack of form was a huge problem right throughout IPL 2023
If Rohit Sharma wasn’t the skipper of the Mumbai Indians’ team, he would probably be warming the bench most of the season. Apart from a couple of good knocks, the Indian skipper has been a spectator for most of the IPL 2023 tournament. GT vs MI was no different and he didn’t do his job with the bat once again, when the team needed him the most.
In the absence of Ishan Kishan, the skipper had to step up. This was the big game for him to leave his mark. He had the chance to put his foot down and stamp his authority. Yet, once again, it was left to the likes of Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav to do the scoring.
Tilak Varma tried his best to help as well and looked impressive. However, Rohit Sharma got out before he had even joined the party. The total was too huge at the end of the day. But, the captain has to take the blame here for his batting, which has been below average right through this tournament!!
Rohit Sharma IPL 2023-
Total runs- 332, average of 20 and strike rate of 132.
Half-centuries- 2
1. Utilization of Tim David in the match; wasted!!
Tim David can be a LETHAL WEAPON (hahaha, reference) on his day!! But that day was surely not today. And though the Aussie gets some blame for his poor batting, skipper Rohit Sharma did him no favours.
When the run-rate is above 12 runs per over and you need to get going from the very first ball, Vishnu Vinod was sent ahead of him in a high pressure situation. The CONCUSSION SUB scored 5 runs off 7 balls. This put pressure back on the Mumbai Indians. And it did not help SKY as well, who also got out during this time period.
Later, it was too late and David had to try and get things done. Hardik Pandya too played it smart and left one over of Rashid Khan just for him. Eventually, the cheeky Afghani leg-spinner got him out and that was the end of the game from there on.
Had he been sent out to bat an over or two ago, when Vinod came in, things could have been different. He could have then accelerated and the mentality of both batsmen could have been on the same wavelength. Instead, he came in at a time when his wicket meant that the match was potentially done. And eventually that’s exactly what happened!!
At the end of the day, we at Beyond The Posts enjoyed the Shubman Gill innings and Mumbai tried their best to chase down the total. But as AB de Villiers in the studio said at the interval, it would have been a miracle if they got there!! And Mr. 360 was spot on!!
