'We don't have much option': Hardik Pandya reacts after Mumbai Indians fail to defend 243 runs vs SRH
Mumbai Indians succumbed to their sixth loss of IPL 2026 on Wednesday as they failed to even defend a mammoth target of 244 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Here's what MI skipper Hardik Pandya had to say after yet another defeat.
Mumbai Indians suffered their sixth defeat of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Wednesday as they went down to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. SRH aced the highest ever T20 chase at the venue, gunning down 244 runs with utter ease. With this loss, MI's hopes of making it to the playoffs have diminished quite a lot. After the match, their skipper Hardik Pandya defended his bowlers while also stating that the team doesn't have many options now.
Hardik didn't blame the bowlers for the loss while admitting that the team hasn't been able to step up together this season. "I think this season we don't have much option. We really need to see what we can do [differently]. I won't put my bowlers under the bus. I think as an overall unit, we have not been able to do what exactly Mumbai Indians stands for.
"We really need to see what we need to work on, and it's fine. We have passionate owners, we have a passionate support staff, we all will figure out something," he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Hardik Pandya singles out poor fielding in the game
Mumbai Indians had to blame themselves in the game as they dropped catches and also missed a chance to dismiss Travis Head early in the innings. The batter had edged one to the wicketkeeper off Trent Boult in the third over, but the five-time champions not only failed to review, they didn't even appeal for the dismissal.
Naman Dhir and Will Jacks also put down a few catches, with the former failing to time his jump once on the boundary line and then again inside in the circle. On both occasions, Head was the beneficiary as the southpaw rode his luck to smash 76 runs off 30 balls with four fours and eight sixes to his name.
"It's been that kind of season. When you get a couple of chances, you grab them, that's when luck and momentum changes. If you don't, it kind of hurts you, but it's still fine, all the boys tried really well. They gave everything, [it] did not [work] out," Hardik added further.
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