Hardly the homecoming Hardik Pandya had in mind. Back at the helm for Mumbai Indians, he watched his side crawl to 147 and then see Kolkata Knight Riders knock them off with seven balls remaining. The captain felt the game slipped away in two phases: too many wickets up front and, later, catches that simply would not stick.
“We were 20 short,” Hardik said at the post-match presentation. “I think we lost a lot of wickets in powerplay, but if Tilak [Varma] or I would have stayed longer and if we would have stitched a couple of more partnerships and those 15-20 runs, I think we would have had a decent chance.”
The numbers back him up. MI were 46 for 4 after six overs, and six of their eight stands finished below 20. Hardik’s own 26 from 27 balls, alongside Tilak’s 20 off 32, produced the slowest combined strike rate for Nos. 5 and 6 this IPL season when both faced at least 20 deliveries. That lull meant KKR never needed to panic.
The surface did its bit. Only 295 runs were scored in total and 14 wickets tumbled across 38.5 overs. KKR’s Rovman Powell called it a “typical Caribbean wicket”, the ball stopping more than skidding. Hardik, usually happier when bat dominates, admitted he rather enjoyed the contest. “I don’t mind playing on this sort of wickets,” he said, “where bowlers have something to do. I think IPL is becoming quite batting dominant, bowlers are feeling helpless. I think, today’s game gave bowlers a lot of something from wicket which makes them come and bowl some good balls, make batsmen play some good cricket and score runs. So, yeah, I kind of enjoyed it.”
Even with only 147 to defend, Mumbai were in the argument at 73 for 3 after nine overs. Then came the drops: Powell reprieved at deep midwicket, Manish Pandey offered up a straightforward chance at cover. Both were spilt, and the pair went on to add 64, effectively settling the chase.
“I don’t know [what went wrong with the fielding]. I think, we, throughout the season, we’ve been, quite poor in fielding,” Hardik admitted. “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.” He doubled down on the basics: “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’re chasing the game.”
For Mumbai, the equation is familiar: shore up the powerplay, find a method in the middle overs, and hold every catch on offer. Do two of those three and Hardik reckons the margins flip. For now, though, Kolkata have the points and Mumbai are left to wonder about the 20 runs—and two lapses—that got away.
