Watch: "Tough one, yeah" - Hardik Pandya's cold response after MI's defeat to KKR in IPL 2024 match
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was inevitably disappointed as his team collapsed to a defeat on Saturday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The 30-year-old gave the host broadcaster a rather cold response when asked if the loss was a tough one to take.
The five-time champions collapsed to their second defeat of the season to the Kolkata Knight Riders. With 157 to win in 16 overs in a rain-hit contest, Mumbai Indians managed only 139, with the captain falling for 2 off 4.
Speaking to the host broadcaster after the game, Pandya admitted that momentum was quite crucial, given the nature of the pitch.
"Tough one, yeah. As a batting unit, the foundation was there but we could not capitalize after that and keep the momentum up. The wicket was a little up and down and a little tacky so momentum was very important."
Among the Mumbai Indians' batters, only Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma managed at least 20. As far as the Knight Riders are concerned, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh played cameos to lift their side to 157-7 after a rocky start.
"Just to go and enjoy as much as we can" - Hardik Pandya ahead of MI's final game
The seam-bowling all-rounder said that Mumbai have hardly played good cricket throughout the season and hope to enjoy their final match. Pandya said:
"I think it was a par score, given the conditions, felt that the bowlers did well. Every ball that came back from the boundary came back wet. The bowlers made sure they kept taking wickets.
"Nothing, just to go and enjoy as much as we can and play good cricket, that’s been my motto from the start. I don’t think we’ve played enough good cricket this season."
The win also meant that the Knight Riders became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs.