MI vs SRH: Emotional Hardik Pandya admits his team can't do anything now for playoff race: 'We don't have much options'

Hardik Pandya has admitted that Mumbai Indians are nearly out of the IPL 2026 playoff race after a record loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad despite Ryan Rickelton’s century.

Hardik Pandya appeared to admit that MI’s fate is all but sealed this season. Image: JioHotstar

FirstCricket Staff|Apr 30, 2026, 00:05:30 IST

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya gave an emotional reaction after his team suffered another tough loss in IPL 2026, appearing to admit that they are all but out of the playoffs race this season.

Mumbai Indians posted a massive total of 243/5, thanks to a brilliant century from Ryan Rickelton, who scored 123 off 55 balls. However, despite the big score, Sunrisers Hyderabad chased it down comfortably, reaching 249/4 in just 18.4 overs to win the match by six wickets.

After the game, Hardik admitted that his team failed to execute their plans with the ball. “I don’t think dew played much of a role. They just played some good shots and we bowled bad balls. I will back my bowlers to defend 244, but we could not execute,” Hardik said.

Hardik suggests MI's season all but over

He also spoke about how the season has gone for MI, saying that missed chances have cost them badly. “Been that kind of a season. You get chances, you grab them. If you don’t, it hurts you. This season, we don’t have much options. I won’t put my bowlers under the bus. As a unit, we have not been able to do what MI stands for,” he added.

Hardik also praised the support staff and owners, while hoping the team can still find a way to improve. “We have passionate owners and support staff, hopefully we will figure out something,” he said.

Despite Rickelton’s record-breaking knock, MI bowlers struggled to contain SRH’s aggressive batting. Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24), Travis Head (76 off 30) and Heinrich Klaasen (65* off 30) led the chase with ease.

With this defeat, Mumbai Indians’ playoff hopes have taken a major hit, and they will now need something special in the remaining matches to stay in contention and hope other results also go their way.

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