‘We could not recover after losing early wickets’: Hardik Pandya after 103-run loss to CSK

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that his side failed to cope with early setbacks in the crushing 103-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL 2026 “El Clasico” clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night.

Speaking after the match, Pandya said losing early wickets in the powerplay put MI on the back foot while chasing a challenging target of 208. “I think that in the power play, losing that early wicket is always going to be tricky. You are always chasing the game, and we could not cope after that,” Pandya said.

Addressing questions on whether the pitch behaved differently during the chase, the MI skipper dismissed the suggestion and credited CSK’s batting performance. “I would not say that. I’m not someone who would like to say that. They batted well; they scored 207. It was the same track, it is the same soil. We should have just batted well,” he added.

Appreciation all around for a special knock

Sanju Samson Respect #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #MIvCSK | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/eS0u6dxRGi

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2026

Pandya acknowledged the impact of spinners but praised CSK’s batting depth, especially Sanju Samson’s unbeaten century. “I think even our spinners bowled pretty well. It’s just that Sanju played an outstanding knock. At the same point in time, their batters kept coming and kind of chipping in and got them to a decent total. I think more than a decent total on that track.”

He further stressed that MI needed a strong start in the power play to stay competitive in the chase. “For us to chase this down, we needed to have a good power play, and the momentum had to be with us, but that could not happen,” Pandya noted.

On possible changes in the squad for upcoming matches, the MI captain said discussions would take place within the team setup. “I think that will be the chat where we will go back again, go forward and figure out what we need to do. We have a couple of days. We just need to see what we can do best,” he concluded.

The Super Kings registered a dominant 103-run victory over MI, powered by a sensational century from Samson and a match-winning bowling performance led by Akeal Hosein.

CSK posted a commanding 207/6, with Samson smashing a fluent 101 off 54 balls, before their bowlers dismantled MI’s batting unit. Akeal Hosein starred with a four-wicket haul (4/17), while Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj and Gurjapneet Singh also chipped in as MI were bundled out for 104.

With this result, CSK climbed to fifth place in the IPL 2026 standings. CSK’s dominant 103-run victory over MI also went into the record books as their biggest win in terms of runs in IPL history. They surpassed their previous record, a 97-run win against Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings) in Chennai during the 2015 season.

For MI, the defeat marked their heaviest loss in IPL history by runs. Their earlier worst margin of defeat was an 87-run loss to the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur during the 2013 season. It also became their biggest defeat at the Wankhede Stadium, surpassing a 39-run loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2015.

The total of 104 all out is now MI’s lowest score against CSK in IPL history, going past their 136/8 at Dubai in the 2021 edition. Overall, CSK have now won five of the last six encounters against MI since 2023. (ANI)