IPL 2026: RR vs MI– In a rain-shortened IPL 2026 thriller at the ACA Barsapara Stadium, the Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a 27-run defeat against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Following the match, a visibly frustrated Hardik Pandya did not mince his words, pinning the blame for the loss squarely on his bowling department.
The match, reduced to 11 overs per side, saw Rajasthan blast an immense 150 for 3, thanks to a 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and an unbeaten 77 from Yashasvi Jaiswal. Despite a star-studded attack featuring Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, Mumbai’s bowlers struggled to contain the onslaught in the powerplay.
Hardik Shields Batters, Criticises Bowling Unit
While Mumbai fell short in their chase of 151, finishing at 123 for 9, Pandya insisted that the game was lost in the first few overs of the field.
The captain was particularly firm that his batting group, which had to go for big shots from the first ball, should not be blamed for the result.
“I would not put this game on the batting. This was definitely the bowling unit which had to take responsibility. It’s T20 cricket; it’s always about bowling those couple of right balls. If you look at the 27-run margin, we are talking about five good balls and five fewer sixes. If we had executed the right deliveries, we would have been in the game,” Hardik said after the match.
He further noted that the early aggression from the Rajasthan openers left Mumbai in a permanent state of recovery.
“But as I said, their openers threw us out of the game in the first couple of overs. After that, we were catching up throughout the innings and ultimately fell short,” he added.
“Not At All Up To The Mark”
The figures made for grim reading for the five-time champions. Apart from Pandya himself, the rest of the bowling attack conceded runs at an economy rate of over 10. The skipper doubled down on his assessment, stating that the execution was simply not there.
“We didn’t execute the deliveries we were supposed to. They played well, but I think our bowlers need to take responsibility. As a bowling group, we were not at all up to the mark, and they played tremendous cricket,” said Pandya.
Praise for the Young Prodigy
Despite the sting of defeat, Pandya took a moment to acknowledge the brilliance of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenage opener’s fearless display included smashing 39 runs off just 14 balls, including two sixes off Jasprit Bumrah.
“It’s quite fascinating to see a 16-year-old boy playing the way he played. Amazing to see the way he bats, the kind of fearlessness he has,” Pandya remarked, wishing the youngster luck for the future.
With Mumbai now facing back-to-back defeats and slipping to seventh on the points table, their next clash against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru becomes all the more important. For Pandya and his men, the priority is, bowling unit must find its rhythm if they are to revive their title hopes.
