NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya created history on Friday by becoming the first-ever captain in Indian Premier League (IPL) history to claim a five-wicket haul.
Pandya's fiery spell of 5 for 36 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium was also his personal best in T20 cricket.
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Hardik’s impact came at crucial stages of the match, beginning with the big wickets of Nicholas Pooran (12), LSG captain Rishabh Pant (2) and Aiden Markram (53) during the middle overs to break the momentum after LSG’s explosive start.
He returned in the final over with LSG looking to push past 200. David Miller, who completed 3000 IPL runs, hammered Hardik for a six and a four but fell next ball trying to go big again. Pandya then dismissed Akash Deep off the very next delivery, finishing the innings with back-to-back wickets and conceding just three runs in the final three balls.
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Thanks to Hardik’s heroics, LSG were restricted to 203/8 — only the second 200-plus total at this venue after 235/6 by KKR against LSG last year.
Hardik’s 5/36 surpassed his previous best T20 figures of 4/16 against New Zealand in 2023 and marked a milestone moment in his captaincy career.
Most IPL wickets as a captain
57 - Shane Warne30 - Hardik Pandya30 - Anil Kumble25 - Ravichandran Ashwin21 - Pat Cummins
