Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya admitted his team fell short in crucial moments during their 12-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2025 clash held on Friday in Lucknow.
Speaking after the game, Pandya acknowledged the narrow margin and pointed to lapses in the field as a key factor.
“Disappointing when you lose. If we had to be honest, in the field, 10-12 runs we gave too much. We fell short in the end,” he said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Pandya, who made a strong impact with the ball by claiming his first-ever IPL five-wicket haul (5/36), shared insights into his bowling approach:
“Always enjoyed my bowling. I don’t have many options but I read the wicket and use smarter options. I never go for wickets, but I try to make batters make mistakes. Today was one of those days.”
Despite his stellar effort with the ball, MI couldn’t chase down the target of 204. Pandya didn’t shy away from taking responsibility for the team’s underwhelming batting display:
“As a batting unit, we fell short. We win as a team, we lose as a team. I take full ownership.”
One of the major talking points of the game was the retiring out of Tilak Varma during a crucial stage of the chase. Pandya explained the tactical call:
“We needed some hits, he was not getting those. In cricket some of those days come, when you try but they don’t come.”
MI’s third loss in four games has put them in a tricky position early in the tournament, but the skipper remains optimistic about turning things around:
“Just play good cricket, I like to keep it simple. Take better calls, be smart in bowling, take chances in batting. It is a long tournament, you get a couple of wins and get into the rhythm.”
MI will be keen to bounce back in their next fixture and regain momentum as they seek consistency in IPL 2025.