Hardik Pandya the skipper of Mumbai Indians found himself inevitably disappointed after his team collapsed to a defeat last Saturday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The 30yearold gave a rather cold response to the host broadcaster when questioned about the tough loss.
The fivetime champions faced an unexpected defeat succumbing to their second loss of the season to the Kolkata Knight Riders. In a thrilling chase needing 157 runs in 16 overs disrupted by rain the Mumbai Indians fell 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.
“Tough one, yeah. As a batting unit, the foundation was there but we could not capitalize after that and keep the momentum up. The wicket was a little up and down and a little tacky so momentum was very important.”
Hardik Pandya
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:
“I think it was a par score, given the conditions, felt that the bowlers did well. Every ball that came back from the boundary came back wet. The bowlers made sure they kept taking wickets.
“Nothing, just to go and enjoy as much as we can and play good cricket, that’s been my motto from the start. I don’t think we’ve played enough good cricket this season.”
Hardik Pandya
The win also made the Knight Riders the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs.