Former champions Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered their seventh loss of the current Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Saturday. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) did the double over their arch-rivals as they won the game by eight wickets. This loss has put MI on the brink of early elimination from the league with five matches left to play.

Skipper Hardik Pandya yet again cut a sorry figure as he saw his side disintegrate with the bat and later with the ball. Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary slammed MI players for failing to support their skipper after yet another woeful performance. With four points from nine games, any realistic chances of making the playoffs are gone with the loss.

Reviewing the game on Cricbuzz, the 41-year-old said, “The season is already over. I can speak clearly about what I see. The captain must have each player’s confidence and be a leader. It seems like no one is standing with Hardik, and he isn’t getting the support that he deserves.”

Former IPL winner name drops two players for below-par showing

Ex-India batter who played a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title win in 2012, named Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma as the two players who have under-performed this season. Indian T20I skipper managed to score just 21 with the bat, while Tilak was out after scoring five runs from eight balls against CSK.

Bengal’s former batter added, “The captain has a role, and yes, he hasn’t played well. But other players must also take responsibility. For example, Surya hasn’t done well consistently, nor has Tilak. That kind of inconsistency from players cannot bring results; it is very disappointing.”

Skipper endures another forgettable day to on the field

Hardik won the toss and chose to bat first, but his team scored a meager 159 runs. Ryan Rickelton scored 37 from 24 balls with five sixes in his knock, but the top scorer was Naman Dhir, who hit 57 off 37 balls with four boundaries and three sixes.

With his team needing the final push, Pandya failed to get going with the bat, scoring 18 runs from 23 balls. With the ball, the 32-year-old bowled just two overs and failed to pick up any wickets as he conceded 17 runs. jasprit bumrah and Allah Ghazanfar were the two wicket-takers for the former champions, while debutant Raghu Sharma bowled impressively without taking a wicket.