Having MS Dhoni behind the stumps helps, says Hardik Pandya as he insults Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya opened up about the loss against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He admitted that it was a chaseable target for them and also credited MS Dhoni for changing the game for his team.

Mumbai Indians suffered their 4th loss of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as they faced a 20-run loss against Chennai Super Kings at their home ground in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They didn't turn up well with bat and ball and were down for most of the game.

With the ball, they gave away 206 runs with the bat as their bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Skipper Hardik Pandya picked 2 wickets but had an economy of over 24. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Nabi, every bowler had an economy of over 8.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad (69), Shivam Dube (66) and MS Dhoni (20*) were stars of the night with bat for Chennai Super Kings. Based on their rollicking effort with the bat, they ended with a total of over 200, despite having lost wickets early on.

Mumbai Indians had a great start with the bat as Ishan Kishan (23) and Rohit Sharma 105*) played well and added 70 runs. But after that, no other batter played a great supporting role to Rohit, who slammed a blistering century at the Wankhede Stadium.

They ended with 186 runs and lost the game by 20 runs. For Chennai Super Kings, Matheesha Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers. He returned with the figures of 4/28 in his 4 overs and tilted the game in favour of his team.

Hardik Pandya admitted that the introduction of Matheesha Pathirana changed the game for them and added that the entire Chennai Super Kings team were smart with their plans. Speaking about the same during the post-match presentation, he explained:

"It (target) was definitely gettable, but they bowled pretty well. Pathirana was the difference. They were smart with their plans and their approach. They got the hang of it, there's a man behind the stumps (Dhoni) who tells them what's working, and that helps. It (pitch) was holding up a bit and getting difficult. It was about batting well and keeping the intent."

Need to play good cricket, and keep the intensity high - Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya admitted that they should've tried different things in the game. He also talked about his plans to Shivam Dube and concluded by saying that they need to keep the intensity high. He explained:

"We were going quite well (in the run chase) till Pathirana came into the attack and took those two wickets. It was about what was best at that time, we could have done something different. I like to play percentage cricket, it would have been difficult for him (Dube) against seamers rather than spin. We are on the road for the next four games, need to play good cricket, need to keep the intensity high."

Mumbai Indians will be next seen in action when they will take on Punjab Kings on Thursday (18th April).