Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya admitted they should have batted well in the run chase of 208 runs against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday after they suffered a 103-run loss, which is their biggest loss in IPL history. CSK posted a par score of 207 runs on the board after Sanju Samson scored his fifth IPL century, scoring 101 runs off just 54 balls.

But, MI failed to get going in the Powerplay overs, losing three wickets in the first six overs and were left reeling at 11-3. From there on, they were always behind the game and could not recover.

Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma scored 36 and 37 runs respectively, but none of the other MI batters could even reach double digits.

Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation when asked if the pitch changed in any way in the second innings, “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.”

Pandya admitted losing early wickets in the Powerplay put them under the cosh in the run chase.

He added, “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 up after that.”

MI captain praised Sanju Samson for his outstanding knock after the CSK opener scored his second century of IPL 2026. Pandya said his spinners bowled well on the home ground.

He concluded, “Yes, I think even our spinners bowled pretty well. It’s just that Sanju played an outstanding knock. At the same point of 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. For us to chase this down, we needed to have a good powerplay and the momentum had to be with us, but that could not happen.”

Mumbai Indians will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Wednesday.