Hardik Pandya’s honest words after the Mumbai Indians stumbled yet again when it mattered most. A tight contest against Kolkata Knight Riders fizzled out in their favour, this time by just four wickets under Wednesday’s dim light. Chasing too little, they still tripped at crucial turns. Each misstep etched deeper into an already rough season for MI.
Meanwhile, hope flickers faintly for KKR, thirteen points now sit in their pocket, one match left to dream. Victory keeps them breathing, barely.
Out front, Hardik Pandya saw how Mumbai’s lineup stumbled once quick wickets fell during the opening burst. A steady stand later on might have tilted things differently, he thought, halfway through his post-match reflections.
“We were definitely 20 runs short. Losing wickets in the power play hurt us. If Tilak Varma and I had stayed a bit longer and built a couple of partnerships, we could have added another 15-20 runs and had a decent chance,” Hardik Pandya said after the match.
Hardik Pandya rues MI’s fielding lapses
Mistakes in the field keep adding up, said the MI captain, with missed catches standing out every time. Those lapses have shaped too many outcomes this year.
“I think throughout the season we’ve been quite poor in the field. We’ve dropped a lot of catches, and there’s no hiding from that. If you want to win games, you need to grab your chances, even the half-chances. When you drop opportunities that can change the game, you’re always chasing from behind,” he added.
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Falling short didn’t dull Hardik Pandya’s view; This kind of ground felt different, alive with grip and bounce. A change showed up quietly: here, bowlers mattered again, not just hitters lighting up scoreboards. Most tracks lately roll out red carpets for big shots, yet this one held firm, gave back effort. He called it honest, almost rare these days when concrete slabs pass as pitches week after week.
“To be very honest, I don’t mind playing on these kinds of wickets where bowlers have something to work with. IPL has become very batting-dominated, and bowlers often feel helpless. Today’s wicket gave bowlers a chance to make batters work hard for runs, and I enjoyed that contest,” he said.
That pitch felt like home, Rovman Powell noted it brought back memories of Caribbean grounds. His 40-run effort shaped the run-chase outcome. Familiar bounce let him adjust without delay.
“It was a typical Caribbean wicket. It wasn’t one of those IPL surfaces where the ball slides onto the bat. It held a bit, and I understood how to bat on it,” Powell explained.
That West Indian player said focusing on the shorter fence made it easier to keep up with the required runs. Reaching the target felt smoother once they adjusted to hitting toward the nearer edge of the field.
“The score itself showed that once you got a start, you had to make use of it and target the short side. It wasn’t an easy batting wicket, so contributing to the win feels good,” he said.
Powell stood firm: KKR will keep swinging hard in their last league match, eyes fixed on bold play instead of tangled math. Outcomes, they’ll sort themselves.
“That’s the beauty of the game. We just need to focus on our last match and play good cricket. Whether we qualify or not will depend on other results, but our job is to keep playing positively,” he added.
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