Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya made history on Friday during Match 16 of the IPL 2025 season, becoming the first captain in IPL history to take a five-wicket haul. The match, played at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, saw Pandya deliver his best-ever T20 bowling performance, finishing with figures of 5/36 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Pandya’s spell included the scalps of Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram, David Miller, and Akash Deep, breaking his previous T20 best of 4/16 against New Zealand in 2023.
With this feat, he now stands behind Shane Warne—who claimed 57 wickets as an IPL captain—in the list of captains with the most wickets. Pandya has now taken 30 wickets while leading his side.
Hardik Strikes Just When Mumbai Needed It
LSG got off to a flying start after being sent in to bat, with Mitchell Marsh hammering 60 off 31 deliveries. However, Mumbai’s Vignesh Puthur halted the momentum by dismissing Marsh.
Pandya entered the attack in the 9th over and made an immediate impact by removing Nicholas Pooran, followed quickly by Rishabh Pant, who once again failed to fire with just 2 runs off 6 balls.
David Miller Praises Hardik’s Bowling Prowess
At the halfway stage, LSG’s David Miller praised Hardik’s bowling execution during an on-air interview:
“He is a good bowler. He is a little bit quicker than you think. He has got good variations, he holds the length really really well. He bowled really well tonight. Hopefully, one of our bowlers could do the same.”
Lucknow Posts 203 Despite Collapse
Despite the flurry of wickets, LSG posted a strong 203/8 in 20 overs. Marsh and Aiden Markram (53) anchored the innings with solid half-centuries.
However, the form of captain Rishabh Pant remained a concern as he recorded his fourth low score in a row this season.
Sharing his thoughts on the pitch and team strategy, Miller added:
“The feedback we got from the guys who batted for a while was it was slow and it stuck in the pitch. A good back of a length ball squatted a little.”
“Good wicket, but we will use those variations. No dew as of now but hope our bowlers execute on what we have been talking about in the last few days,” he concluded.