It was supposed to be a special game for MI skipper Hardik Pandya. The 31-year-old was coming back after serving a one-match ban, in IPL 2025. But then Shubman Gill’s GT did not give an inch to his side, at their fortress Ahmedabad. MI lost by a massive 36 runs on Saturday, after being set a target of 197.
MI Humbled on Hardik Pandya’s Return
Not only poor choice of playing XI, MI’s chances were hampered by some bad bowling in the powerplay, and the bowlers failed to apply pressure on Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill. The former ended up scoring yet another fifty, his second consecutive in IPL 2025. In short, it all fell in place for Gujarat.
But there are problems for Mumbai, and Hardik Pandya admitted too. “Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places. We were not professional in the field, we made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot,” a dejected skipper said after the match.
Mumbai Batters Fail Again, Second Consecutive Loss in IPL 2025
Without blaming anyone in particular, Hardik was quite clear that the players needed to take responsibility. “They (GT openers) batted brilliantly, only a couple of deliveries here and there. They were quite exceptional, they didn’t take many chances, they did the right stuff, they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots.
“We were doing catch-up since then. At the moment we all need to take responsibility, it’s still early stages. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully they do that soon. On this wicket they (slower deliveries) were the toughest balls, some were shooting, some were bouncing, as batters it becomes difficult. They (GT bowlers) did what I did with the ball,” he concluded.
