Hardik Pandya Fined For Slow Over-Rate In IPL 2025 Match

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has been fined for having a slow over-rate during an IPL match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. This is the first instance in IPL 2025 that a captain has been fined for this. As this was Mumbai Indians' first offence of the season under Article 2.2 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, Pandya was fined Rs 12 lakhs. The five-time champions were defeated in their second match of the season as Gujarat Titans won in a commanding fashion by 36 runs.

Hardik Pandya had earlier missed Mumbai Indians' season opener against Chennai Super Kings because of a suspension for an over-rate offence in IPL 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants. His absence was felt in the game against Chennai Super Kings as Mumbai could not post a competitive score and lost by four wickets.

Gujarat Titans showed a well-rounded performance to defeat Mumbai Indians by 36 runs and earn their first victory of IPL 2025. Sai Sudharsan was instrumental with his 63-run knock from 41 balls, which assisted Gujarat in scoring a total of 196/8. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were impressive in the bowling unit. Prasidh Krishna obtained wickets through nicely executed slower balls, and Mohammed Siraj did well through his scrambled seam balls. Both of them got two wickets and were important in limiting Mumbai Indians to 160/6 in their 20 overs.

Mumbai Indians are currently ninth in the IPL 2025 table with no wins as of yet. They play next against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai Indians will have to revamp both their batting and bowling to secure their first win of the season.

Following the defeat, Hardik Pandya accepted that the side lacked in batting and bowling. He indicated that Mumbai Indians lacked 15-20 runs during batting and bowling. He also added that the team committed elementary mistakes in the field, which added an extra 20-25 runs to the rival's side. He accepted the excellent batting display from Gujarat Titans' openers, who played a game with strategy without taking risky shots.

Mumbai Indians will now try to make a turnaround in the tournament by correcting their weaknesses and trying to play better in future games. Hardik Pandya and his team will try to rebound and achieve their first victory in IPL 2025.