Hardik Pandya not bowling the last over vs GT can cost MI a place in playoffs: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya not bowling the final over against the Gujarat Titans in the 56th match of the IPL 2025 season at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 6.

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Notably, Gujarat Titans secured a three-wicket thrilling win in this particular contest after Deepak Chahar bowled the final over, conceding 15 runs against the likes of Gerald Coetzee, Rahul Tewatia, and Arshad Khan.

Speaking about the same, Gavaskar stated that Hardik Pandya has enough experience of delivering the goods in the final in the major international matches. However, the MI skipper conceded 18 runs, including five extras, in his first and only over of the game, which could be one of the reasons behind him not bowling the final over.

“As I explained earlier, because of the fact that he had bowled those final overs - and bowled them very well - he bowled over against Bangladesh where, I mean, we got 3 wickets, Bangladesh had to score 4 or 5, and India managed to win that game by one run. And then in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup last year in the West Indies, in Barbados, he bowled that final over and India won," Sunil Gavaskar said while speaking on JioStar.

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"So with that, with one over left, I would have thought that - because, let's face it, also, you know, in commentary we heard that Deepak Chahar really hasn't bowled in the final 5 overs. This is probably, you know, one of those rare occasions, so he, you know, he's not used to bowling in the final overs. So I think that is where the... uh... but, I mean, the game could have changed," Gavaskar stated.

Moreover, the Mumbai Indians were also penalized with a fielder outside the circle in the final over due to the slow-over rate. Gavaskar feels MI team management and players need to sit and talk about the slow-over rate issue before heading into the playoffs.

"I think the fact that they took their time with the over - so they had to be penalized one field. These things can come in and, you know, cost you a place in the playoffs. And that is the reason why I think Mumbai Indians really have to sit down and talk about that," he concluded.

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