Former Indian cricketer Murali Kartik has criticized Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya for lacking confidence in Mitchell Santner's batting skills, particularly when he opted not to take a single in the final over. In a strategic move, Mumbai Indians had previously allowed Tilak Varma to retire out in the penultimate over to make room for Santner for the last seven deliveries. However, the New Zealand all-rounder only faced two balls, while Hardik chose to take on the responsibility himself, attempting to score the necessary runs. With 22 runs required in the final over, Hardik managed to score just 9 runs from the first five balls.

The five-time champions are under scrutiny following Tilak's decision, having now lost three out of their first four matches, placing them seventh in the points table.

Tilak, who entered as an Impact Player for MI, struggled to find his rhythm, scoring 25 runs off 23 balls before being retired out, including a couple of boundaries.

Kartik expressed his confusion regarding Mumbai Indians' strategy, suggesting that when Santner was brought in to replace Tilak, the captain should have demonstrated trust in his abilities and taken singles during the last over.

"I couldn't comprehend what MI was attempting to achieve. If you believe Tilak is having an off day and is unable to score effectively, you brought in Santner, who managed 2 runs off 1 ball. If you brought Santner in with the expectation that he could hit big, then why not take a single in the last over? The shots that Pandya missed could have been sixes if Santner had been given the opportunity," Kartik remarked on Cricbuzz.

The former left-arm spinner noted that the trend of taking the game deep and avoiding singles was popularized by legendary Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but he expressed dissatisfaction with other players emulating this approach.

"I believe MS Dhoni initiated this trend of avoiding singles, and now many players are following suit," he added.

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