Hardik Takes Full Ownership of MI’s Disheartening Batting vs LSG
The Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a crushing 12-run defeat at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, played at the Ekana Stadium on April 4. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Rohit Sharma-led side, which has been one of the most successful teams in the tournament’s history. In the post-match press conference, MI skipper Hardik Pandya took the full responsibility of his side’s underwhelming batting performance, saying, “As a batting unit, we fell short. We win as a team, we lose as a team. I take full ownership.”
The defeat was a wake-up call for the MI batsmen, who have been struggling to score big runs this season. The team’s top-order batsmen, in particular, failed to deliver, with none of them reaching the 30-run mark. Hardik Pandya, who has been one of the team’s most consistent performers with the bat, was one of the few bright spots, scoring 35 runs off 30 balls.
Despite his personal performance, Pandya was not pleased with the team’s overall batting display. “We didn’t get the start we wanted, and it’s been a problem for us all season,” he said. “We’ve spoken about it, but we haven’t been able to execute it on the field. Today was another example of that.”
Pandya also praised the LSG bowlers, saying that they did a great job of restricting MI’s batsmen. “Their bowlers did a great job of putting pressure on us, and we didn’t have enough experience to handle that pressure,” he said.
The defeat was a big blow to MI’s chances of making it to the playoffs, and Pandya knows that the team needs to bounce back quickly. “We need to regroup and come back stronger,” he said. “We can’t dwell on this defeat, and we need to focus on the next game.”
The next game for MI is against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), who are also struggling to find their footing this season. Pandya knows that it won’t be an easy game, but he is confident that his team can turn things around.
“Rajasthan is a tough team, but we’ve beaten them before, and we can do it again,” he said. “We just need to go back to the basics, work on our strengths, and believe in ourselves. We have the talent, and we just need to execute it on the field.”
For now, Pandya is focused on putting the defeat behind him and looking ahead to the next game. “I take full ownership of this defeat,” he said. “As a batting unit, we fell short, and we need to work on it. We win as a team, we lose as a team, and we need to take responsibility for our performance.”
The IPL 2025 has been a rollercoaster ride so far, with teams struggling to find consistency. MI’s defeat to LSG was a reminder that no team is invincible, and that even the best teams can have off days. As Hardik Pandya and his team look to regroup and come back stronger, they know that they need to stay focused and believe in themselves if they want to make a deep run in the tournament.
As the tournament progresses, fans will be eagerly waiting to see how MI bounces back from this defeat. Will they be able to turn things around and make a push for the playoffs, or will they struggle to find their footing? Only time will tell.
