In what could be seen as a costly oversight, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons during their IPL 2025 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Electing to bowl first, Mumbai got off to a steady start, thanks to Trent Boult’s disciplined opening over.
But an early opportunity slipped right through their fingers—literally and figuratively. On the fourth ball of the opening over, Boult bowled a beautiful outswinger at 135.9 km/h that shaped away from Mitchell Marsh. The batter poked at it and appeared to have edged it. Surprisingly, there was no appeal from the MI players, including Pandya, despite Boult’s ball clearly beating the outside edge.
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Replays on the big screen later confirmed that Marsh had indeed nicked it. Boult looked visibly stunned; Pandya’s reaction wasn’t much different—just frustration and disbelief. Such missed chances can set the tone in high-stakes matches, and MI may well rue not going for the DRS. In tournaments as intense as the IPL, margins are razor-thin, and moments like these make all the difference.
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At the toss, Rishabh Pant expressed confidence in his side’s aggressive approach. “Few of our batters haven’t come off, including me, but we’re committed to playing positive cricket. No fixed target in mind—we just want to express ourselves,” Pant said. He also confirmed one change: Akash Deep in for Siddharth.
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Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, emphasized adaptability. “We’ve had a team chat to stop blaming wickets. It’s about smart cricket, execution, and adaptation. That’s what wins you games,” he said. He also revealed that Rohit Sharma was unavailable due to a practice injury and assured that Jasprit Bumrah would return soon.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Vignesh Puthur, Trent Boult
