'There are a lot of questions but that will take some time to answer': Hardik Pandya disheartened after Mumbai Indians' loss to KKR at Wankhede after 12 years

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya was left disheartened after the hosts’ 24-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, no batter could make an impact in the run chase of 170 as they were bowled out for 145. After the loss, Hardik said that the lack of partnerships hurt them.
 

“I mean obviously in the batting inning, we couldn’t form partnerships and kept losing wickets, in T20s if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you. Not much, there are a lot of questions but that will take some time to answer but for now, not much to say,” Hardik said in the post-match presentation. 
 

The 30-year-old lauded the bowlers for causing a batting collapse and bowling out KKR for 169. He also vowed to keep fighting and take on the challenges in the remainder of the season. 
 

“As you mentioned, the bowlers did a fantastic job, the wicket got a little better after the first innings, the dew came on. We will go through the game and see what we could have done better. You keep fighting, that is what I tell to myself, never leave the battlefield, tough days come but good also come here, it’s challenging but challenges make you better,” he added. 
 

Expensive with ball, ineffective with bat

Hardik took a couple of wickets but turned out to be expensive. He conceded 44 runs in his quota of four overs. He got the wickets of Sunil Narine and impact player Manish Pandey. In the run chase, he walked out to bat at no.7. MI were struggling for 70/5 in the 11th over and needed a partnership. But Pandya could not stitch a partnership with Suryakumar and was dismissed by Andre Russell.

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MI almost out of playoffs race

This was MI’s first loss to KKR at Wankhede Stadium after 12 years. It was their eighth loss from 11 games. They are placed ninth on the points table, just above Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on the basis of their net run rate (NRR). MI are practically out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs race with three more league stage games left to play. 
 

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