Former Mumbai Indians (MI) bowler Mitchell McClenaghan said that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fast bowler Jamie Overton has exposed a major weakness in Hardik Pandya’s batting. McClenaghan made the comments ahead of the IPL 2026 clash between MI and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
During the recent match against CSK at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Pandya was out after scoring 18 runs in 23 balls. He hit only two fours before being caught by Dewald Brevis at deep midwicket off the bowling of Anshul Kamboj. The Mumbai franchise scored a total of 159/7, which the Super Kings achieved in 18.1 overs.
Jamie Overton exposed Hardik Pandya’s weakness – Michelle McClenaghan
Speaking on Star Sports segment ‘Game Plan’, Mitchell McClenaghan said that Hardik Pandya struggled against hard-length deliveries outside the off stump. He said that the MI captain tried to force the ball down the ground and advised him to use uppercut shots to reach more scoring areas.
“Hardik Pandya is struggling. And I think he (Jamie Overton) exposed a weakness in Hardik Pandya, the hard length outside the off stump, and Hardik was probably trying to mash the ball a little bit too much,” McClenaghan said.
“And I think when I was playing with Hardik Pandya, he had that uppercut shot that he used regularly and he could hit it over point. And it was probably because of him going back to what he used to play rather than trying to look down the ground at mid-wicket.”
LSG will try to expose that weakness – Mitchell McClenaghan warns Hardik Pandya
Michelle McClenaghan further warned that upcoming opponents have a strong attack to exploit this weakness. He said the Lucknow Super Giants pace bowlers will use their pace to target that length, forcing Hardik Pandya to find quick counter tactics.
“It’s really opening up the whole field and also using the speed of the delivery because I think, especially with this lineup that they’ve got, they’ve got high pace throughout their attack and LSG will try to expose that weakness that Jamie Overton has got, and they’ll have to find a way to deal with that.”
Pandya has had a disappointing performance with the bat in the current tournament. The 32-year-old all-rounder has scored just 146 runs in eight innings at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44, with his highest score being 40.
I like the changes he has made – Michelle McClenaghan on Suryakumar Yadav
During the same discussion, Mitchell McClenaghan also analyzed Suryakumar Yadav’s recent outings against high-speed short deliveries. He said the technical adjustment of moving towards the leg side to create space would help him find gaps and score more consistently.
“Yes, the tendency is to get out to the short ball at pace, and I think he (Suryakumar Yadav) has probably made some adjustments in that last game against Chennai, where he has improved. He gave himself a bit of a chance and was able to get to the short ball and unfortunately got out to deep point. But I like the changes he has made. He has given himself a bit of space, and if he continues in the same fashion, I see him hitting the pocket a bit easier. Because what is.” A lot of teams have been working with him now, they know the angles he bowls at.”
“And if he stays in his traditional position in the crease, he’s hitting it straight to the fielders. So what he did was adjust to coming down the leg side so he can hit those pockets a little bit more, which we saw the beginning of. So it only takes one innings to get back on that run-scoring escalator.”
Suryakumar Yadav has also struggled to produce his usual explosive performances for the franchise this season. He has scored 183 runs in nine matches at an average of 20.33 and a strike rate of 144.09, with his highest score being 51.
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