IPL 2026 | ‘We’ve been quite poor’: Hardik Pandya’s blunt verdict on Mumbai Indians’ IPL campaign | Cricket News
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 Eden Gardens on Wednesday.After MI posted 147/8 in 20 overs, they had a few opportunities in the field but failed to capitalise on them. Frustration peaked in the 10th over when KKR’s Rovman Powell top-edged a pull shot off Hardik Pandya.Deepak Chahar at fine leg appeared set to take the catch but left it for Robin Minz coming in from 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 throughout the season, we’ve been quite poor in fielding. I think we have dropped a lot of catches, which obviously no one wants to do it. But in that part of the game, I think there is no hiding away,” Pandya said after the match.“I think if you get chances, if you want to win games, you need to grab all the chances, even half chances as well. But yeah, when you drop chances which can change the game, it’s always you are chasing the game,” he added.Kolkata Knight Riders stayed alive in the playoff race with a crucial four-wicket win, as a Sunil Narine-led bowling attack once again delivered on a tricky Eden Gardens surface.Needing a win to stay in contention, KKR produced 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 instance of Pandya losing four consecutive matches as captain in the IPL.“(Were you about 20 runs short?) Yeah, I mean, quite entertaining. Definitely as a batting group, we were 20 short. I think we lost a lot of wickets in powerplay, but if Tilak and I would have stayed longer, and we had stitched a couple of more partnerships and got those 15-20 runs, I think we would have had a decent chance,” Pandya said.
