Kamal Ghorui
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya pointed fingers at his bowling unit after their 27-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in a rain-curtailed 11-overs-a-side IPL 2026 clash at the ACA Stadium.Opting to bowl first, Mumbai failed to make early inroads as Rajasthan’s openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, launched a brutal assault. The duo powered RR to a flying start, smashing 56 runs in just 3.2 overs of the Power-play. Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 77 off 32 balls, while Sooryavanshi contributed a quickfire 39 off 14, helping Rajasthan post a daunting 150/3 in 11 overs.Chasing 151, Mumbai’s batting line-up crumbled under pressure. Reduced to 46/5 early on, they never recovered and finished at 123/9, falling short by 27 runs.Hardik Pandya blames the bowling unitSpeaking after the match, Pandya admitted the bowlers failed to execute their plans. He emphasised that the unit conceded too many boundaries in the initial overs, allowing RR to take control of the game.“We did not execute the deliveries we were supposed to. They played well. Bowlers need to take responsibility. As a bowling group, we were not up to the mark. They also played tremendously,” said Pandya in the post-match presentation.Pandya said he would not blame his batters for not scoring enough runs in the Power-play. “I would not put the blame on batting. Definitely the bowling unit, which had to take responsibility. It is always about bowling those good balls. If we had executed, we would have been in the game. Their openers threw us off our game, and we were playing catch-up,” he added.Asked about RR’s teenage batting sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Pandya said, “Quite fascinating to see a 17- or 16-year-old boy (15-year-old) play that way. Amazing to see the way he bats, the fearlessness he has. Wish him good luck for the future.”Pandya refused to get disheartened by the result and said they would learn from their mistakes. “Just learn from the mistakes. Morning will come tomorrow, the sun will rise, prepare well for the next game,” he said.Mumbai Indians next fixtureMumbai Indians will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. While Mumbai have historically dominated at this venue, registering eight wins over Bengaluru, RCB come into the clash with confidence as defending champions and having won four of their last six encounters against MI.
