"Please don't ruin your legacy and my beautiful team" - Fans blast Hardik Pandya for dismal run-a-ball 10 vs RR in IPL 2024 clash

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya continued his dismal performance in IPL 2024 with a run-a-ball 10 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Jaipur on April 22.

Hardik came into bat in the 17th over with MI looking to accelerate but struggled to find his timing. He struck only the lone boundary before missing a full toss off the bowling of Avesh Khan to be dismissed LBW.

After moving to MI from the Gujarat Titans in the off-season, Hardik was made captain, much to the dismay of Mumbai fans. Adding to the negative fan reception at the stadiums, the talismanic all-rounder's performance with bat and ball has added to his woes.

Hardik has scored only 151 runs at an average of 21.57 at a strike rate of 142.45 in eight games. His bowling hasn't been much better with only 4 wickets at an average of over 41 and an economy of 11.

Fans on Twitter were unimpressed with Hardik's continued struggles and expressed their furore with the below reactions:

Fans continued expressing their displeasure at Hardik with one of them saying:

"Only an Idiot like Hardik can derail a good innings. His batting destroyed the whole momentum of MI to reach 200."

"Whether it's batting, bowling, or his decisions as a captain, Hardik Pandya seems determined to ruin our season in every possible way," another fan said.

"As the best finisher of the team, Hardik should start batting at no. 11," tweeted a fan.

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MI set RR challenging target after slow start

MI had the worst possible start to this all-important encounter against RR, losing openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the first two overs.

When Suryakumar Yadav followed soon, memories of the first meeting between the sides resurfaced. In the clash, MI lost its first four wickets inside the powerplay and eventually suffered a six-wicket defeat.

However, Tilak Varma scored a magnificent 45-ball 65 and had tremendous support from Nehal Wadhere, who scored 49 off 24 deliveries. The duo helped MI recover from 52/4 with a 99-run stand from just 52 balls.

Eventually, MI finished on 179/9 in 20 overs despite a sensational five-wicket haul from Sandeep Sharma. The RR pacer returned to the side after missing the previous five games due to injury.

With only three wins in seven games thus far, MI is in virtual must-win territory to harbor playoff qualification hopes.

As things stand, RR are off to a solid start at 19/0 in three overs.