Mumbai Indians (MI) are 0/2 in IPL 2025 and their captain Hardik Pandya has a few leaks to plug. After a 36-run defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, he said he was concerned that his team has been committing "basic errors" and that his batters have yet to come to the party.
On an Ahmedabad pitch that slowed down as the game progressed, MI let the opposition get away to a rapid start. Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan were able to put on 66 runs in the powerplay and Hardik felt MI had already fallen behind.
"They batted brilliantly," Hardik said at the post-match presentation. "The way they both batted was quite exceptional. You know, they didn't take chances. They hit good boundaries. They did the right stuff. I think in the powerplay, without high-risk shots, they were able to get those runs. I think that made us go a little [on the] back foot and I think from that time onwards, we were doing catch up."
Gill, the GT captain, said that they picked a black-soil surface for the game because it "fits our batting and bowling more than the red-soil wicket". Essentially, the home team opted for conditions that made it hard to hit through the line of the ball.
MI felt that when they batted. Hardik, coming in at the end of the 13th over, faced 17 deliveries for just 11 runs. "Definitely, I was just thinking that," he said in response to a question about whether GT learned from his own bowling effort where he took pace off and found success (2 for 29).
"Maybe I bowled way too many balls - they were able to see that it's gripping. On this wicket, I think those were the toughest balls because some were shooting down, some were bouncing and some were gripping. So when you have this much variable bounce or difference, I think as a batter it becomes difficult."
MI faced tricky conditions in their first game in Chennai as well, where they were able to score only 155 in conditions where the ball gripped a bit.
"There should not be a concern [about the batting] but at the moment I think it is time," Hardik said. "I mean, we all need to take responsibilities and it's [at an] early stage. But at the same point of time, I think batters have to come to the party. And yeah, hopefully they come soon."
MI will play their next match at home, where conditions are likely to be much better for batting. They take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday.