What Happened To Hardik Pandya? Mumbai Indians Skipper Goes Missing In Loss To Delhi Capitals

New Delhi: Delhi Capitals defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Saturday. Held at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, the match saw Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel win the toss and elect to bowl first. Suryakumar Yadav captained the Mumbai Indians in this encounter. Regular captain Hardik Pandya was unavailable for selection for this match.

What update did Suryakumar Yadav reveal?

During the toss, Suryakumar Yadav shared an update regarding Hardik Pandya. Surya stated that Hardik was unwell and did not look in good shape; consequently, he was not fit to play in this match. He also noted that while there is a positive atmosphere within the team following their victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the conditions in Delhi differ from those at the Wankhede, and the team would need to play with a sense of responsibility.

Describing the pitch as favorable for batting, Suryakumar Yadav mentioned that his team was prepared to bat first. During the toss, Axar Patel remarked that this was his team's first home match, and he wanted to assess the behavior of the pitch. Axar observed that the wicket appeared somewhat dry and hard, suggesting that chasing a target might be the better option under these circumstances.

What did Axar Patel say?

Furthermore, referencing their previous victory, Axar Patel stated that winning a match from a precarious position of 26/4 had significantly boosted the team's confidence. Delhi made no changes to their Playing XI for this match, whereas the Mumbai Indians made several changes to their lineup for this game.

Deepak Chahar was included in the Playing XI in place of Hardik Pandya, while Corbin Bosch was given an opportunity to replace Trent Boult. Additionally, Mitchell Santner was given a chance in place of Allah Ghazanfar. While the Delhi team took the field aiming to capitalize on their home-ground advantage, Mumbai Indians had to assemble their team combination without their regular captain.

What were the Playing XIs?

Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel (Captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T. Natarajan, and Mukesh Kumar.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (Wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, and Jasprit Bumrah.