Former Indian cricket star Piyush Chawla praises the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) for their outstanding comeback in the IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League). After losing four matches at the start of the IPL, the Mumbai-based franchise has won back-to-back games and is now in third position on the points table. This is the first time they have made such a comeback in the IPL.
This time, the batters stepped up, and the bowlers delivered breakthroughs in crunch situations. Now, the team looks quite balanced. From here on, MI have a good chance of qualifying for the play-offs if they continue to win their upcoming matches. Pandya has been phenomenal with his captaincy skills and has performed well in most of the matches. Now he’s getting the much-needed support from the team, which is a definite plus.
Chawla analysed their batting and bowling performances and said that since the side looks quite balanced, it is a great sign for them. The concern related to Rohit Sharma is also gone, as he has scored back-to-back half-centuries in the last two games.
“They are on a roll at the moment. The kind of cricket they are playing, all the games they’ve won recently have been convincing victories. They haven’t really had to struggle. The bowlers are doing their job, the batters are doing wonders with the bat, and the middle order isn’t even getting a chance to bat. That’s a great sign for any team,” Chawla said on JioStar.
“This is why we always say the Mumbai Indians are a team that knows how to make a comeback and take the lead. Earlier, there were concerns about Rohit Sharma not scoring runs, but in the last two games, he has stepped up. Hardik Pandya is in great form, both with the bat and ball, which gives him a lot of confidence, and that reflects in his captaincy as well,” he further added.
‘The simplest explanation is just lack of confidence’ – Hayden on SRH
Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden pointed out that the real reason behind SRH’s poor performance in April 2025 was the ‘lack of confidence’. After having a solid start in the IPL, the Hyderabad-based franchise failed to showcase their skills and is in the ninth position on the point table. They lost four matches in a row, which was the main reason for their shaken confidence.
“The simplest explanation is just a lack of confidence. When you start losing the way SRH has, it’s tough to bounce back. They were seen as benchmark batters, but right now they’re far from that. This has led to issues in the middle order. It comes down to regaining confidence, not just in the top order but across the unit,” Hayden said.
“They need to stop overthinking and focus on their own game. Right now, SRH are chasing this tournament, chasing combinations, and even chasing the strength that used to be their powerful batting unit,” the former Australia legend concluded.
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