MI were hammered by RCB in their own backyard and lost by 18 runs. Chasing a target of 241, the hosts managed 222/5. While many factors were responsible for their defeat, spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin has held skipper Hardik Pandya responsible for the loss.

Ravichandran Ashwin Calls Out Hardik Pandya's Bizarre Captaincy Call

What really left Ashwin dumbfounded among the blunders made by Hardik was giving the ball to Mayank Markande in the 11th over. Rajat Patidar was batting and it was against Markande in the 2024 game between SRH and RCB that Patidar announced himself as a powerful hitter of spin bowling. And who was the bowler? None other than Markande. Ashwin said Hardik did not learn from history. In that game, Markande was hit for four sixes in four balls. This time, Patidar hit him for three sixes.

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No Lesson Learnt from History

"This SRH vs RCB 2024 game was where Rajat Patidar announced that he is a spin hitter. He was hitting Markande into every corner. There are some common things between these two big overs. The first ball was taken by Virat Kohli, he took a single, and everything else was the same. There he hit four sixes, here he hit three," he said on his YouTube channel.

"Rajat Patidar is a monster hitter against spinners. When he came to bat, you gave the ball to Markande straight away? Not the smartest of moves. Very, very average. It is very important to understand what Markande thinks. Patidar hit him and washed him in Hyderabad, and here, he hit him from the very first ball again," he added.