Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya offered a straightforward and honest assessment of his team’s defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The high-octane match took place at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, where RCB registered a historic victory—beating MI at their home ground for the very first time.

RCB Break Wankhede Jinx With a Dominant Performance

IPL 2025: Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB):

RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, put up a strong performance and continued their impressive campaign by chasing down the match in just 10 overs. The visitors set a daunting total of 222 runs. Despite a spirited partnership between Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, Mumbai couldn’t close the gap, resulting in another defeat for the five-time champions.

Hardik Pandya Reflects on a Tough Loss

After the match, Hardik Pandya candidly shared his views about the loss, describing the game as a “run-fest” and highlighting how little the bowlers could do on such a batting-friendly surface.

“It was a run-fest. The wicket was really good. I was just talking about that to myself that again we fell short with two hits. I don’t have much to say. (Was 221 par or above-par?) The way the wicket was, the bowers didn’t really have much place to hide.

It came down to execution. You can stop the batters, but I don’t want to be harsh on the bowlers. It was a tough track; we did not have many options. (No. 3 position) The original skeleton of our team, Naman, was always batting down the order,”

Pandya said during the post-match presentation.

Hardik Pandya

Naman Dhir’s Batting Order Sparks Discussion

Naman Dhir, who had earlier impressed with a rapid 46 off 24 balls at No. 3, was surprisingly sent in at No. 7 in this match. The move raised eyebrows, especially given his recent form. But Pandya explained that the team’s original structure had Naman playing down the order, and this game was no exception.

Rohit Sharma Returns as Impact Player

Rohit Sharma, who missed MI’s previous game against Lucknow Super Giants, made his return in this fixture as the Impact Player. He had opened the innings in this match but was dismissed after scoring 17 runs off just 9 balls, which included two fours and a six.

Hardik spoke about the situation that led to reshuffling the batting order and Rohit’s impact:

“It’s just that in the last game, Ro wasn’t available, so we had to push someone up, and someone like him has the multi-dimensional game where he can come up as well and can play in the death as well. Once Ro was back, we knew that Naman would have to come down. Tilak was fantastic. Last game, a lot of things happened.

People said a lot of things about it but people don’t know that he had a very nasty hit the previous day.

It was a tactical call, but because of the finger that he had, the coach just felt that it was a better option for someone fresh to come and do it. Today, he was fantastic. In this sort of game, powerplays are very crucial.

We were not able to get in the middle, and that put us back in the chase. It comes down to execution in the death – we were not able to play those balls.”

Tilak Varma’s Grit Praised Amid Injury Concerns

Tilak Varma earned praise from his skipper for his fighting spirit. Despite suffering a finger injury a day prior, Tilak still took the field and played a pivotal role in MI’s attempt to chase the massive total. Pandya revealed that it was a tactical decision to rest him in the previous game due to the injury.

Jasprit Bumrah’s Return Adds Firepower

Jasprit Bumrah, one of MI’s most valuable assets, made his IPL 2025 debut in this match. Although he didn’t claim any wickets, he maintained a tidy economy rate of 7.20 while conceding only 29 runs in his four overs.

Pandya acknowledged Bumrah’s importance and highlighted his contributions:

“Having him (Bumrah) makes any team in the world very special. He came in and did his job; we were very happy to have him. In life, never back down, and always see the positive side of it. Go out there, try to play the best cricket of your life and back yourself. We are all backing them, just hope for the result to come our way,”

he concluded.

Looking Ahead: MI Needs to Regroup

Despite the loss, Pandya remained hopeful. While the result didn’t go their way, the MI captain’s focus is on staying positive and backing the team. With key players returning and the season still wide open, Mumbai Indians will aim to bounce back stronger in the matches to come.

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