April 02 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that it was a tough night for the side as the five-time IPL champions suffered their third loss on the trot on Monday against Rajasthan Royals. Things went bad to worse for MI as they once again failed to put up collective effort on the field and endured a crushing 6-wicket hammering. Asked to bat first, Mumbai had a horrible start with four batters returning to the pavilion inside the powerplay, fighting knocks from Hardik Pandya (34) and Tilak Varma (32) helped them to crawl to 125/9 in 20 overs.
However, it was not enough for the bowlers to defend despite tight spells from Akash Madhwal (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/26). Royals chased down the target with 27 balls to spare courtesy an unbeaten 54-run knock by Riyan Parag.
Skipper Pandya said that they didn’t get the ideal start in the match as the RR pacers ran riot with the new ball as the hosts were four down for just 20.
“Yes, a tough night, we didn’t start the way we wanted to start,” Pandya told the broadcasters after Mumbai suffered their third defeat in a row.
Pandya tried to rebuild MI’s innings with his counter-attacking 34-run knock but threw his wicket away in an attempt to play a big shot.
‘My wicket changed the game’: Hardik Pandya after loss against RR
The MI captain admitted that things might have been different if he could have stayed in the middle for a longer period of time.
“I wanted to counter and think we were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150 or 160 but I think my wicket changed the game and brought them more in the game and I think I could have done better,” the star all-rounder said.
It wasn’t a typical Wankhede Stadium surface as the pacers got the swing to trouble the batters as both sides struggled and failed to get going.
Talking about the pitch, Pandya didn’t have any complaints and he is up for the surfaces which offers assistance to the bowlers.
“It’s good to have something for the bowlers as well. The game is quite cruel to the bowlers. But it was unexpected. It’s all about doing the right things. Results, sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t think much surprises me anymore,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pandya is confident about his team bouncing back in coming matches but for that, they need to show more discipline in the middle.
“As a group we believe we can pull off a lot of better things going forward and we just need to be more disciplined and show more courage,” he concluded.