The Jinx is Broken: Virender Sehwag Slams Hardik Pandya After RR Loss

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya | Source: Twitter 

Former India opener Virender Sehwag has raised concerns over the strategy applied by the Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya during the death overs of their match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, April 16 in Ahmedabad.  

In the crucial final overs of Rajasthan Royals' chase, Hardik Pandya came up with an unexpected move to choose Mohammed Shami and Noor Ahmed over their standout bowler of the day, Mohit Sharma, who bowled two overs and conceded just seven runs. 

This decision turned out to be unwise, as both Shami and Noor Ahmed struggled to contain the opposition batters and conceded boundaries, which saw Rajasthan cruising to three wickets victory.

Following the match, there was a sense of bewilderment among cricket pundits and fans as to why Hardik Pandya didn't hand the ball to Mohit Sharma in the death overs. 

Virender Sehwag also chimed in on the debate during an interview with Cricbuzz. Here are his thoughts on the matter:

"They probably didn't give Mohit Sharma the ball as they would have thought that he would find it difficult to hit the spinners as compared to pacers. They felt he may not be able to read Rashid and Noor Ahmed properly and would get dismissed. But how do you still not give a third over to someone who has conceded just 7 runs in his first 2 overs?"

Sehwag further went on to add that the belief that Gujarat Titans have an unbeatable bowling attack capable of defending any total has been shattered and they need to reassess their plans and strategies and consider who to entrust with the ball in the death overs. 

"Rajasthan have broken the jinx of everyone thinking that Gujarat has a very strong bowling and that targets cannot be chased. They leaked runs just like the bowling attacks of the likes of Chennai and Mumbai. So they have to get together and make a plan as to who is going to bowl their final three overs."