Hardik Pandya slams Mumbai Indians’ fielding and batting after 36-run loss to Gujarat Titans, calls on underperforming batters—including Rohit Sharma—to step up.
Ahmedabad, March 30 – Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya did not mince words after his team slumped to a 36-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in Match 9 of IPL 2025. With another poor outing by Rohit Sharma, who managed just 8 runs for the second consecutive match, Pandya’s post-match remarks served as a clear warning to MI’s struggling batting unit.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya admitted that MI fell short in both batting and bowling departments, saying:
“We were 15–20 runs short with both bat and ball. We made basic errors in the field that cost us at least 20–25 runs, and in a T20 game, that’s a lot.”
Despite a late fightback by MI’s bowlers to restrict GT to 196/8, the MI chase crumbled during the final overs. Pandya praised the opposition’s smart play, especially their handling of the tricky surface.
“GT openers batted brilliantly without taking many risks. Slower deliveries were tough to face, and they used that well. Batters need to step up, and we all need to take responsibility now—it’s still early days.”
While Tilak Varma (39) and Suryakumar Yadav (48) showed resistance during a 62-run partnership, MI’s batting fell apart in the death overs. The team was eventually restricted to 160/6, falling well short of the target.
Also Read: IPL 2025: Shubman Gill Reveals Black Soil Pitch Strategy After GT’s Dominant Win Over MI
In the bowling department, Hardik himself impressed with 2/29, while Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb ur Rahman, and S Raju chipped in with a wicket each.
From GT’s side, Sai Sudarshan led the charge with a well-made 63 off 41, while Shubman Gill (38) and Jos Buttler (39) provided a strong base. GT’s bowling effort, led by Prasidh Krishna (2/18) and Mohammed Siraj (2/34), sealed the win.
With two back-to-back losses, MI now find themselves under early pressure, and the spotlight is firmly on their senior players—especially Rohit Sharma—to deliver.
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