IPL 2026 | ‘We were pretty poor’: Hardik Pandya’s harsh verdict on Mumbai Indians’ IPL campaign

Hardik Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: The dejection on captain Hardik Pandya’s face was clearly visible, with sloppy fielding proving to be one of the key reasons behind Mumbai Indians’ defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.After MI posted 147/8 in 20 overs, they had several opportunities in the field but failed to capitalize on them. The frustration came to a head in the 10th over when KKR’s Rovman Powell edged Hardik Pandya.Deepak Chahar at fine leg looked set for a catch but left it for Robin Minze coming at deep square leg and the ball eventually landed safely between the two fielders.“(What was going on in the field?) I don’t know. I think we’ve been pretty miserable in the field throughout the season. I think we’ve dropped a lot of catches, which obviously nobody wants to do. But in this part of the game, I think there’s nowhere to hide,” Pandya said after the match.“I think if you get chances, if you want to win games, you have to take every chance, even half chances. But yes, when you throw away chances that can change the game, it’s always when you’re chasing the game,” he added.Kolkata Knight Riders stayed alive in the play-off race with a decisive four-wicket victory as the Sunil Narine-led bowling attack once again came to life on the tricky Eden Gardens surface.Needing a win to stay in contention, KKR made a disciplined effort to restrict the already eliminated five-time champions to 147/8 after Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to field.It also marked the third time Pandya had lost four consecutive matches as captain in the IPL.“(Did you have about 20 runs?) Yeah, I mean, pretty funny. We were certainly short of 20 as a batting group. I think we lost a lot of wickets in the powerplay, but if Tilak and I had stayed longer and stitched a few more partnerships and got those 15-20 runs, I think we would have had a decent chance,” Pandya said.