‘There were two options’: Hardik Pandya on harsh reality check after MI defeat

mumbai indians team leader Hardik Pandya His mood dimmed after the team suffered three consecutive losses. intense pulsed light 2026 and lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.MI, chasing a mammoth target of 241 runs, were always under pressure after RCB posted a mammoth 240/4 (supported by a half-century). Phil Salter, Virat Kohli and rajapatidar. Despite a strong start Rohit Sharma Mumbai never really took control of the chase, finishing at 222/5 with Sherfane Rutherford’s unbeaten 71 being the only standout performance.In the locker room after the game, Hardik and the head coach addressed the team Mahela Jayewardene And urged players to deal with setbacks collectively rather than isolating themselves.He said: “Thinking about what Jordan said, I think we have two options. One is to go back to our room, go back to our cocoon space and try to figure it out. I know it’s hard to lose, but let’s learn… let’s not disappear. But let’s learn. It’s always winning and learning and never failing. So let’s do this. This is after tonight’s game, once we get back to the hotel, we’ll have a meal together and we’ll talk about cricket. We will discuss other things, but we will solve this problem,” Hardik said in the dressing room.Reflecting on the defeat, Hardik admitted that MI have struggled to control the game in recent games and often find themselves chasing the game rather than dictating the order.After the match, he said: “I think we conceded too many runs. I think (the target of 241) was always going to be chased. I think in the last few games, as a bowling unit and even as a batting unit, we have been chasing rather than leading in games. We really need to reflect and really need to look at what we can do best and how we can get the momentum and clicks that we need.We take a few days off here and we’ll play again. (Bat second way to go here?) To be honest, a lot of things need to be rethought right now. Sure, it doesn’t work. There were a few games where we won but maybe we need to look at what other options we have as a batting group or as a bowling group. Look at the kind of wickets it’s taking, it would be great if we can bat as well. We still need to play good cricket, we still need to bowl well, we still need to bowl well,” Hardik said.With MI suffering a three-game losing streak, the skipper stressed the need for introspection and possible tactical changes as the team looks to halt their slide in the tournament.