"I needed to do a lot more" - Hardik Pandya takes blame on himself after MI's crushing defeat to RR

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya talked about the loss his team faced in the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He took the blame on himself and admitted that he needed to do more with the bat.

Things are getting worse for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024. They bagged their third consecutive loss of the tournament as Rajasthan Royals thumped them by 6 wickets on their home ground at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday (1st April).

Mumbai Indians displayed a torrid outing with the bat as they managed just 125 runs. Asked to bat, they found themselves reeling at 20/4. But skipper Hardik Pandya (34) counter-attacked and tried to bail his team out of trouble along with Tilak Varma, who scored 32 runs.

Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma added 56 runs together but couldn’t carry on as they lost their wickets at the crucial juncture of the game. The five-time champions could manage just 125 runs on the board. Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal were stars with the ball for Rajasthan Royals.

With the ball, Mumbai Indians kept things tight and picked three quick wickets. But couldn’t capitalise on that. Riyan Parag played a sensational innings with the bat and scored an unbeaten 54 runs to help his team win by 6 wickets and register their third win of the season.

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As a group, we believe we can do a lot better – Hardik Pandya after Mumbai Indians loss to Rajasthan Royals

Hardik Pandya while talking about the loss admitted that it was a tough night for them as they didn’t start the way they wanted to. While talking about his innings, he admitted that he tried to counter-attack but his wicket allowed Rajasthan to get back in the game. Speaking to broadcasters, he explained:

“Yes, a tough night, we didn’t start the way we wanted to start. I wanted to counter, we were in a decent position to get us around 150-160, but my wicket allowed them to get back more into the game, I needed to do a lot more.”

Hardik Pandya also talked about the wicket, saying that they didn’t expect the surface to offer this much help to bowlers. The all-rounder also believes that they can do better as a team as they need to be disciplined and show more courage. He added:

“It’s okay, we didn’t expect such a surface, but you can’t always have it as a batter, it’s nice at times for the bowlers to have a say. It’s all about doing the right things, (correct) Results happen at times, at some other times it doesn’t. As a group, we believe we can do a lot better, but we need to be a bit more disciplined and show a lot more courage.”

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Mumbai Indians will be next seen in action when they take on Delhi Capitals in their next game. The game between the two teams will take place on Sunday (7th April) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They would be keen to get a win under their belt and get off the mark in the IPL 2024.