Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya gave an inspirational message to his team after the defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2026. The all-rounder urged the team to learn from their mistakes instead of isolating themselves after their third consecutive defeat in the ongoing tournament.
Mumbai Indians lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 18 runs in the evening match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 12. After this defeat, the five-time IPL champions will have to quickly fix their issues to keep their playoff hopes alive as they now face a tough challenge after three consecutive defeats.
It’s always about winning or learning – Hardik Pandya’s message like Mohammad Rizwan
Hardik Pandya addressed the dressing room after the defeat in the video shared by Mumbai Indians on X. Pandya stressed the importance of staying united and learning from mistakes together.
“Based on what MJ (Mahela Jayawardene) said, I think there are two options here that we can do. One is to go back to our rooms, go back to our cocoon places and try to figure it out. I know it’s tough; losing is always tough but let’s learn,” Pandya said.
He said, “Let’s not get lost, it’s always about winning and learning. That’s something we can do tonight after the game. Once we go back to the hotel, we’ll have dinner together. We’ll figure something out; we’ll talk about cricket, we’ll talk about something else but we’ll figure it out.”
“𝘓 𝘵𝘵’𝘴 𝘭 ַ֭𝘳𝘯 𝘤𝘳 ω𝘮 OY𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵ַ𝘩 օ𝘴” – Captain HP’s message to the team! 💙 pic.twitter.com/UAJ36N0ceq
– Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) 13 April 2026
Royal Challengers Bangalore made a huge score
Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first, but Royal Challengers Bangalore openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli dominated early on. He added 70 runs in the powerplay, which put Mumbai Indians bowlers under pressure.
Phil Salt completed his half-century in quick succession by attacking Mitchell Santner and Mayank Markandey in the middle overs. Shardul Thakur dismissed him, but captain Rajat Patidar maintained the rhythm. Virat Kohli scored 50 runs in 38 balls before getting out on the ball of Hardik Pandya.
Mumbai Indians struggle during massive run chase
Mumbai Indians lost their rhythm at the beginning of the powerplay and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Sherfane Rutherford fought hard and played an unbeaten inning of 71 runs and kept the team in the match.
The batting unit failed to create the sustained momentum required to chase such a huge target against a disciplined Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack.
Suyyash Sharma bowled well, taking two important wickets, dismissing Ryan Rickelton for 37 and Tilak Verma for 1. Jacob Duffy, Rasikh Salam and Krunal Pandya took one wicket each, leaving Mumbai Indians at 222 for five. Their next match will be against Invincible Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday at home.
