{"id":563141,"date":"2026-05-02T23:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T23:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/563141\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T23:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T23:09:10","slug":"hardik-pandya-refuses-to-hide-behind-excuses-cuts-a-sorry-figure-after-mumbai-indians-all-but-crash-out-of-ipl-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/563141\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardik Pandya refuses to hide behind excuses, cuts a sorry figure after Mumbai Indians all but crash out of IPL 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya admitted that his side\u2019s defeat to Chennai Super Kings was not just one bad night, but a reflection of a season that has gone wrong.<\/p>\n

\"HardikHardik Pandya during the CSK vs MI match in IPL 2026. (PTI)<\/p>\n

MI lost by eight wickets after making 159\/7 in 20 overs despite being 90\/2 at one stage. CSK chased the target down in 18.1 overs, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma controlling the innings after MI failed to create sustained pressure with the ball.<\/p>\n

Hardik Pandya admits MI missed finishing push<\/p>\n

Asked after the match whether it was simply not Mumbai\u2019s night, Hardik gave a blunt answer. \u201cNot the season, I feel, not just the night,\u201d Hardik said.<\/p>\n

The MI <\/a>captain said CSK were clearly better across departments and did not try to hide behind conditions. \u201cThey played better, they bowled better, they fielded better, and they batted better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

MI\u2019s innings had promised more when they reached 90\/2, but the second half failed to produce the acceleration needed on a surface where 180-190 could have given them a fighting chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point of time we were looking to get around 180, 190. It should have been a good total, but yeah, we could not get the momentum in the last 10 overs, could not get the finish as well,\u201d Hardik said.<\/p>\n

Hardik Pandya<\/a> said the pitch was not easy for batters to attack immediately, but stressed that MI still needed better calculation and execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not easy to go straight away and kind of play shots, which even their batters, after getting set, they could not really take on the bowlers,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was more about playing calculative cricket and making sure that we had the right wickets in hand. At the same point of time, batters could not get under the ball, they bowled better, and just overall, as a bowling unit, they were better, and as a batting unit, we were not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: CSK vs MI LIVE Score IPL 2026: Ruturaj Gaikwad guides CSK, completes the double over hapless MI<\/a><\/p>\n

CSK<\/a>\u2019s chase exposed MI\u2019s lack of wicket-taking pressure. Once Ruturaj and Kartik settled, Mumbai struggled to drag the game back. Asked whether MI needed to be more aggressive with the ball, Hardik responded with a sharp line. \u201cI don\u2019t know what aggressive it would have been. I think you would have had to throw some fireballs to get them out,\u201d he said. \u201cBut yeah, the bowling option which we had, we went with it. And they just played smart cricket, and they were better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defeat left MI staring at a harsher season verdict. Their captain\u2019s words made it clear: this was not merely about CSK outplaying them on the night. It was about a campaign where starts have not become totals, control has not become pressure, and Mumbai\u2019s usual authority has gone missing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya admitted that his side\u2019s defeat to Chennai Super Kings was not just one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[28021,1721,193070,27710,17774,32190,29986,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-563141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-chennai-super-kings","9":"tag-cricket","10":"tag-csk-vs-mi","11":"tag-hardik-pandya","12":"tag-ipl-2026","13":"tag-mumbai-indians","14":"tag-ruturaj-gaikwad","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}