Hardik Pandya takes the blame after Mumbai Indians crash out of IPL 2025: ‘Maybe I could have managed troops better'
Mumbai Indians found themselves on the wrong end of one of the greatest IPL playoffs batting performances of all time, as Shreyas Iyer scored a swashbuckling 87* off just 41 deliveries to take his Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 finals for a date between potential first-time winners against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
MI were unable to defend 204, marking the first time in franchise history that an opposition teams chased down a target in excess of 200. The end of this remarkable streak also marked the end of MI's season, and captain Hardik Pandya reflected on what went wrong for his team.
On if PBKS batting, he credited his opposite number for the way in which he handled the chase. 'Yeah definitely, especially Shreyas the way he batted, took his chances and some of the shots he played were outstanding.' Iyer hit 8 towering sixes, many of them straight down the ground, and four coming in the 19th over of Ashwani Kumar.
Asked if he thought 203 was enough on an Ahmedabad surface that had seen first innings average scores closer to 220, Hardik stuck by his batting unit, and said the execution was missing in crucial moments. 'I think it was par, but it needed great execution as a bowling unit, matters in a big game, they were really calm, put us under pressure, and we couldn't execute,' explained Hardik.
'I'll not put it on the wicket, if we had to do something better it was to bowl right lengths, or bowl the right bowler at the right time. I'm someone who likes to take it all on me, and maybe I could have managed my troops a little better.'
In MI's win over GT, Bumrah bowled out slightly early, but provided the match-changing and momentum-swinging overs despite that fact. In Ahmedabad, Bumrah was saved until the 18th over, when PBKS needed only 31 off 18. While he conceded only 8, Pandya was asked if Bumrah could have bowled even earlier to try and bring an end to Iyer's innings before it truly got going.
'If we bowled Bumrah earlier, it might have been better, but it might have been a little too early instead,' said Hardik, backing his decision. 'Knowing Boom, the situation even if 18 balls are left, Jassi can be Jassi and do something special. Unfortunately didn't happen today.'
Bumrah's poor day at the office was a big reason for Punjab hauling down the total with an over to spare, as Josh Inglis' early takedown of the best T20 bowler in the world quickly swung momentum in Punjab's direction. Now, they look forward to a rematch vs RCB, while Mumbai pack things up and look to go one better in 2026.
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