Mumbai: Hardik Pandya’s steely nerves and his last-over heroics set the seal on India’s T20 World Cup triumph. His star act wouldn’t have been complete without Suryakumar Yadav’s miraculous boundary line catch to dismiss the dangerous David Miller on that balmy afternoon in Barbados. The two Mumbai Indians (MI) stars and their destinies have been intertwined right through 2024.
After Pandya finally found joy in the World Cup to get over his IPL season of woes and boos, the selectors threw him a curveball by naming Yadav as India’s T20I captain. MI, though, kept the faith in Pandya and Yadav will play under him in next year’s IPL. Reason enough for some extra edge to the Syed Mushtaq Ali semi-final on Friday in Bengaluru where Mumbai take on Baroda.
Neither are captaining their sides. All their teams want from them is to play with unrestrained T20 abandon. That’s exactly how Pandya has approached the tournament. He has been instrumental in Baroda’s journey so far, living up to the billing of being India’s best pace bowling all-rounder. At a strike rate of 199, his 241 runs in six matches have been priceless. He has also set the tone with the new ball taking five wickets at an economy of 8.86.
Against Gujarat – an attack that comprised Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi – Pandya walked out at 80/3 and smashed 74* off 35 balls to chase down the 185-run target. Against Uttar Pradesh, he arrived at 50/3 and his 41* runs off 21 balls were enough for Baroda to touch the 166-run target. Pandya scored a 30-ball 69 to give the finishing impetus to Baroda’s successful run-chase of 222 when they jet Tamil Nadu. In the only match Baroda couldn’t win, against Saurashtra, Pandya didn’t play.
Yadav arrived to the tournament late and has had limited impact. He put the Services attack to the sword powering seven sixes on way to scoring 70 from 46 balls. But in the other two matches, the batting star flopped.
Lifting your game in front of empty stands can be challenging. But a little competitive rivalry can help. Expect Pandya and Yadav to give of their best as they attempt to power their team to the final.
There is no dearth of star power in the Mumbai squad. Ajinkya Rahane (334 runs, SR 167.84) has been the surprise package. He opens with Prithvi Shaw who, ignored by IPL franchises, has a lot to prove. Captain Shreyas Iyer comes with his own aura and ball-striking ability. There’s also Chennai Super Kings power-hitter Shivam Dube and the exciting finisher Suryansh Shedge.
What Baroda lack in star presence, they make up with an impressive array of talented youngsters. Shashvat Rawat (SR 180.39) and Shivalik Sharma (SR 156.69) carry plenty of promise. Wily spinner and captain Krunal Pandya can be difficult to deal with. But there’s no hiding from their reliance on the younger Pandya sibling who, having endured a cocktail of emotions over the year, will strives to end the year on a high.
