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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya sported a glum look during the final stages of the IPL 2024 contest against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The match took place on Friday (May 3) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Hardik's poor debut season as MI captain continued as KKR beat his team by 24 runs. MI are now reeling at the ninth position of the points table with eight losses in 11 games. They are now on the brink of elimination from the playoffs race.
After being asked to bat first, KKR managed to score 169 in 19.5 overs on the back of contributions from Venkatesh Iyer (70) and Manish Pandey (42). Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thushara picked up three wickets apiece, while Hardik scalped two wickets for MI.
Mumbai Indians batting line-up then crumbled in tricky conditions and bundled out for 145 in 18.5 overs. Suryakumar Yadav fought valiantly with a knock of 56 (35) and kept MI alive until his departure in the 16th over. It was all doom and gloom for the Mumbai side after that.
Hardik Pandya (1 in 3 balls) looked distraught and sad while watching the match from the dugout during the final moments, viewing his side's dismal situation.
You can watch Hardik's disappointed reactions following MI's poor performance against KKR in the below posts:
"Obviously, there will be a few questions but we'll take some time to answer them"- MI captain Hardik Pandya after 24-run loss vs KKR in IPL 2024
After the conclusion of the match, Hardik Pandya pointed out that the lack of partnerships in the batting department hurt their chances in the chase. Reflecting on the loss, Pandya said:
"In the batting, we couldn't form any partnerships. If you keep losing wickets, it's going to cost you. Obviously, there will be a few questions but we'll take some time to answer them. For now, not much to say. The bowlers did a fantastic job in the first innings and the conditions did get better with the dew."
Pandya continued:
"We'll have the debrief later and see where things went wrong. You've got to keep fighting. The tough days come with their fair share of good days, you have to be there for them."
MI will square off against SRH in their next match of IPL 2024 on Monday (May 6) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
