IPL 2026: Need to go back and see where we are lacking, says Hardik after MI suffer another defeat
Mumbai, April 17
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said they will go back to the drawing board and see what they are lacking as the five-time champions suffered their fourth successive defeat in Match 24 of the Indian Premier League 2026 against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Quinton de Kock smashed a sensational unbeaten 112 off 60 balls (8x4, 7x6) and, with Naman Dhir (50 off 31 balls, 3x4, 3x6), shared a 123-run partnership for the third wicket to rescue the team from 12/2. But MI failed to capitalise on their efforts and could manage to post only 195/6, falling short of the challenging total by 20 runs.
PBKS easily chased the target, riding on half-centuries by Prabhsimran Singh (80*, 39b, 11 x4, 2x6) and Shreyas Iyer (66, 35b, 5x4, 2x6) to reach 198/3 and win the match by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare.
Pandya said he didn't have much to say after his team was outplayed by an opponent that produced better efforts in batting, bowling and fielding.
"To be honest, I don't have much to say. We need to go back and see where we're lacking - if it's individuals, groups or planning and work it out," he said.
He gave credit to PBKS for mastering the chase brilliantly, exploiting the conditions. "Credit to PBKS, the ball started reversing. Dew came in the second innings, but they beat us. They bowled and fielded better.
"We need to see if we need to make difficult calls or see if we continue and turn things around. Ownership has to be taken," Pandya said, signalling that the MI might read the riot act to their players to salvage the situation; otherwise, things will go from bad to worse in this campaign.
— IANS
Reader Comments
De Kock played a brilliant innings, but cricket is a team sport. The middle order just collapsed around him. Naman Dhir did his bit, but 195 was at least 15-20 runs short on that pitch. The fielding also looked sluggish.
It's painful to watch as a lifelong MI fan. The team looks completely out of sync. "Going back to the drawing board" sounds good, but we need action on the field. Maybe it's time to give some bench players a chance? Can't do worse than this.
Respectfully, Hardik's captaincy has been questionable. The bowling changes when PBKS were chasing were not aggressive enough. We needed wickets, not containing runs. Hope they turn it around soon! #MI
PBKS outplayed us in all departments, simple. Prabhsimran and Shreyas made it look easy. Our bowlers had no answer. The season is long, but with 4 losses in a row, the playoffs look like a distant dream already. 😞
The problem seems to be a lack of fighting spirit. Earlier MI teams would scrap for every run. Now, once a partnership builds against us, the shoulders drop. Need to bring back that Mumbai 'khadoos' attitude!
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