Hardik Pandya the skippeÂr of Mumbai Indians found himself inevitably disappointed afteÂr his team collapsed to a defeÂat last Saturday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The 30yearold gave a rather cold reÂsponse to the host broadcaster wheÂn questioned about the tough loss.
The fiveÂtime champions faced an unexpeÂcted defeat succumbing to theÂir second loss of the season to the Kolkata Knight Riders. In a thrilling chase neeÂding 157 runs in 16 overs disrupted by rain the Mumbai Indians feÂll short managing only 139 as their captain was dismissed for a mere 2 runs off 4 balls.
Speaking to the host announcer after the game, Hardik Pandya stated that momentum was critical given the quality of the ground.
Only Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma of the Mumbai Indians scored at least 20 runs each. Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh made cameo appearances to help the Knight Riders finish 157-7 after a rough start.
“Just to go and enjoy as much as we can” – Hardik Pandya ahead of MI’s final game
The seam-bowling all-rounder stated that Mumbai has rarely played strong cricket this season and hopes to enjoy their final match. Pandya said:
The win also made the Knight Riders the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs.