"Need to take responsibility": Hardik Pandya’s strong message to Rohit Sharma after loss to GT

The Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) locked horns with the Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 9th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL) 2025 on Saturday, March 29.

Mumbai Indians lost the match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad by 36 runs and now their head-to-head record against the franchise stands at 2-4.

Also Read: IPL Points Table 2025: Orange Cap, Purple Cap List After GT vs MI, Match 9

Tough to put it together - Hardik Pandya

Bowling first in the match, MI allowed GT to register a huge score of 196/8 on the board, and while chasing the total the batting unit failed, resulting in MI being restricted to 160/6.

Speaking after the match, Hardik Pandya said that they batted and bowled poorly and their fielding performance was poor as well. He said:

"Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places. We were not professional in the field, we made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot."

Need to take responsibility - Hardik Pandya's message to Rohit Sharma and top-order

Hardik Pandya further lauded the Gujarat Titans openers for batting brilliantly and sent a strong message to Mumbai Indians' top order, saying that they need to take responsibility.

"They (GT openers) batted brilliantly, only a couple of deliveries here and there. They were quite exceptional, they didn't take many chances, they did the right stuff, they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots. We were doing catch-up since then. At the moment we all need to take responsibility, it's still early stages. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully they do that soon," Hardik Pandya said.

Hardik Pandya signed off by saying that the pitch was on a slower side and batting became difficult. He said:

"On this wicket they (slower deliveries) were the toughest balls, some were shooting, some were bouncing, as batters it becomes difficult. They (GT bowlers) did what I did with the ball."

How Did MI Perform in the Previous IPL Match Against GT?

In the previous match against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 on March 24, Mumbai Indians (MI) came very close to victory but eventually lost the match by six runs in Ahmedabad.

Chasing the target of 169 runs, MI lost Ishan Kishan for a duck early but recovered through good batting from Rohit Sharma (43 off 29) and Naman Dhir (20 off 10).

Dewald Brevis also batted decently and chipped in with 46 runs off 38 balls, keeping MI in a commanding position. At 107/2 in 12 overs, the five-time champions looked set for a comfortable win.

However, GT pulled things back nicely. Rohit Sharma's dismissal triggered a collapse and the Titans came into a dominating position in the match. In the final over, Mumbai Indians needed 19 runs with Hardik Pandya at the crease, but Umesh Yadav’s double strike in the 20th over sealed the game for GT, and MI finished at 162/9.

Earlier, with the ball, Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer for Mumbai Indians, delivering sensational figures of 3/14 in four overs. Also, Gerald Coetzee (2/27) and Piyush Chawla (1/31) chipped in with crucial wickets.