"Not up to the mark": Hardik Pandya blames Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah & others for MI's loss to PBKS

Mumbai Indians (MI), under Hardik Pandya's leadership, played their final league stage match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Hardik Pandya-led MI lost Match No. 69 of IPL 2025 against Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS by 7 wickets on Monday, May 26, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Also Read: Watch: 'Furious' Hardik Pandya Brutally Scolds Ashwani Kumar After Pacer Concedes A Four vs PBKS

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The way the wicket played, we were definitely 20 runs short - Hardik Pandya

Batting first in the match, Mumbai Indians didn't have a good outing and they were restricted to 184/7. Rohit Sharma (24), Ryan Rickelton (27), Naman Dhir (20), and Hardik Pandya (26) played decent innings, while Suryakumar Yadav played a brilliant knock of 57 runs off 39 balls.

With the ball, Mumbai Indians were not up to the mark, and Punjab Kings completed the run chase in 18.3 overs. Mitchell Santner picked up two wickets and Jasprit Bumrah got one wicket in the innings.

Speaking after the match, MI skipper Hardik Pandya said that they were 20 runs short and couldn't play their best cricket. He said:

"The way the wicket played, we were definitely 20 runs short. That happens, we've been playing really good cricket, we couldn't play our best cricket and that costed us. IPL is like that, this franchise has won five trophies, it has always been tough. Anytime if you take the leg off the accelerator, the other teams are also keen to win."

The message would be simple, this was just a blip, learn from this - Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya added that they would figure out what went wrong for them and would simply move on. He said:

"The message would be simple, this was just a blip, learn from this, look forward for the knockouts. It's too fresh, we'll identify later but overall we were definitely 20 runs short. We could have capitalised either in the start or in the middle, we'll figure it out."

When Hardik Pandya was asked about keeping pacer Ashwani Kumar in place of leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the playing XI, he replied:

"I back Ashwani, we back Ashwani, that has been the plan throughout the season. We have played with the leggie and the quick. Today, on this wicket, we felt that it'll work, that's fine."

Hardik Pandya also credited the Punjab Kings batters for doing a good job, and he further slammed his bowling unit for not being clinical. He stated:

"(Did batting get better in the second half?) It would be same, I don't think much difference. They really played good cricket, those two batters, the second wicket stand was outstanding. They really took on certain balls whenever we erred and I don't think as a bowling unit we were clinical, we gave some balls which they really capitalised and certain times, they played some good shots as well."

"Overall, we were not up to the mark and it costed us. (On the Eliminator) Overall, play good cricket, bat well, bowl well, work on the plans. We'll figure out the template. Looking forward for the Eliminator."

MI beat PBKS in a close encounter in their previous clash

Mumbai Indians bagged a thrilling 9-run win over Punjab Kings in Mullanpur in their previous Indian Premier League clash on April 18 in the IPL 2024.

Batting first, Mumbai posted a good score of 192/7 on the board. Ishan Kishan got out early, but Rohit Sharma (36) made a decent contribution, and Suryakumar Yadav played a superb knock of 78 runs off 53 balls. He received support from Tilak Varma, who remained unbeaten on 34 off 18 balls and managed to reach a good score.

With the ball, MI were exceptional as they left PBKS reeling at 14/4 in 13 balls. When the opposition was trying to stage a comeback, Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Shashank Singh, and Gerald Coetzee cleaned up Ashutosh Sharma, which led to PBKS being bowled out for 183 in 19.1 overs. Bumrah and Coetzee picked up three wickets each, while Akash Madhwal, Hardik Pandya, and Shreyas Gopal got one wicket each.