New Delhi: Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya was straightforward in his assessment after his team’s dominant win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), calling the target of 175-180 “below-par.”
Pandya praised the match-winning partnership between Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, whose explosive performances helped MI cruise to a nine-wicket victory. With the win, MI moved up to sixth place in the points table.
“We knew it was going to be a high-scoring game, and we took calculated risks. The way Rohit and Surya batted was a relief for all of us. You don’t have to worry about Rohit’s form. When he gets going, we know the opposition is done for. Surya’s batting was great as well. Their partnership took the game away from CSK. We’re sticking to the basics, playing simple cricket, and following our plans,” Hardik said during the post-match presentation.
Pandya also acknowledged that while the pacers had some tough overs, he felt that CSK’s total of 175-180 runs was not enough. “At the end of the day, 175-180 was below-par,” he stated.
In the match, CSK posted a competitive total of 176/5 in 20 overs, thanks to a quickfire 32 off 15 balls by debutant Ayush Mhatre and solid fifties from Shivam Dube (50 off 32 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (53* off 35 balls). Jasprit Bumrah was the standout bowler for MI, picking up 2/25.
During MI’s chase, Rohit Sharma (76* off 45 balls, with four boundaries and six sixes) and Suryakumar Yadav (68* off 30 balls, with six fours and five sixes) shared an unbeaten 109-run partnership to take MI to their target in just 15.4 overs. The win helped MI move to fourth in the points table with eight points from four matches, while CSK remains at the bottom with just two wins from eight matches.
