Kolkata, May 21: In the 65th match of IPL 2026, the Mumbai Indians (MI) faced a 4-wicket defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). This loss marked MI’s ninth defeat of the season, leaving captain Hardik Pandya visibly disappointed. He acknowledged that losing too many wickets during the powerplay proved costly for the team.
After the match, Hardik stated, “Yes, the match was quite entertaining. As a batting unit, we fell short by about 20 runs. I believe we lost too many wickets in the powerplay, but if Tilak and I had batted longer and formed a few more partnerships to add another 15 to 20 runs, we would have had a good chance.”
Regarding the pitch, Hardik commented, “To be honest, I have no issues playing on such wickets where bowlers have something to work with. I feel that the dominance of batsmen in the IPL is increasing. Bowlers often feel helpless. In this match, bowlers received assistance from the wicket, which allowed them to bowl well.”
Hardik admitted that the Mumbai Indians’ fielding throughout the season has been subpar. He remarked, “I think we have been quite poor in fielding this entire season. In my opinion, we have dropped many catches, which obviously no one wants to do. If you want to win matches, you must capitalize on all opportunities, even the difficult catches.”
Under Hardik’s captaincy, MI’s performance in IPL 2026 has been disappointing. The team has only managed to win 4 out of the 13 matches played so far, suffering 9 losses. The Mumbai Indians have already been eliminated from playoff contention. They will play their final league match of the season against the Rajasthan Royals on May 24 at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium.
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