KKR vs MI: 'Mumbai Indians didn't play enough good cricket in IPL 2024' - Hardik Pandya makes bold statement

Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) took on the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 60th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Saturday, May 11, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The game began after a big rain delay and it was a 16-over-a-side contest. After being invited to bowl first in the match, MI restricted KKR to 157/7 with Piyush Chawla and Jasprit Bumrah picking up two wickets each while Nuwan Thusara and Anshul Kamboj also bagged one wicket each.

Chasing the target, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma took the team off to a flyer by adding 65 runs in 42 balls. However, after that, Mumbai Indians lost quick wickets and were reduced to 5-92. Then, Tilak Varma (32) put up a good fight, but no batter supported him, which resulted in MI finishing the match with a score of 139/8. They lost the match by 18 runs.

Speaking after the match, Hardik Pandya looked quite emotional but had a smile on his face. He said that the outing against KKR was a tough one for them. Hardik Pandya added that the openers laid the foundation for the win but they weren't able to capitalise on it. Hardik Pandya further lauded his bowlers and elaborated:

"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. 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."

Hardik Pandya added that they would just go out there and enjoy their next game and concluded by saying that Mumbai Indians didn't play good cricket in IPL 2024.

"(On his thoughts for the next game) 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."

Mumbai Indians Had Lost Against Kolkata Knight Riders At Wankhede In IPL 2024

In the 51st match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024), Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders locked horns with each other at the Wankhede Stadium on May 3. After restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to 169 all-out, Mumbai Indians themselves got bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs to lose the match by 24 runs.

Mumbai Indians were off to an excellent start in the match after bowling first and they reduced the two-time champions to 5-57. However, Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey pushed MI on the backfoot with their 83-run partnership in 62 balls. Iyer smashed 70 runs off 52 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes, and impact player Pandey scored 42 runs off 31 balls, with 2 fours and 2 sixes. For MI, Nuwan Thushara and Jasprit Bumrah picked up three wickets each while Hardik Pandya bagged two wickets and Piyush Chawla got one.

Chasing the target, Mumbai Indians were off to a poor start with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Naman Dhir failing to score. Suryakumar Yadav (56) and Tim David (24) tried to give a good fight but it wasn't enough for the victory. For KKR, Mitchell Starc picked up 4 wickets while Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell bagged two wickets each.