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Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya said his side's inability to control the final overs and early loss of wickets in the powerplay proved costly as they went down by 30 runs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
With the win, RR moved to 16 points, overtaking Punjab Kings (PBKS), and confirming their playoff berth against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator at Mullanpur. While MI finished ninth with eight points from four wins. Reflecting on the defeat, Pandya admitted that the target was within reach, but Mumbai fell behind after a poor start with the bat. "I think 10-15 runs (more we gave with the ball). It was quite hot as well, but we did a pretty good job. It was chaseable; we just lost a lot of wickets in the power play, and then it was always a catch-up game. When I went to bat, it felt like it was coming on nicely. It played similarly in both innings (the pitch). It was coming on the bat. Just had to hold your shape and play good cricketing shots," Pandya said. He further highlighted the decisive impact of Rajasthan's death-over acceleration, pointing to Mumbai's inability to restrict boundaries in the final phase. "Death overs are always difficult, and I always believe that if you can stop 1-2 boundaries in that 5-over bracket, you'll always be 12-15 runs short. Unfortunately, we could not do that. 73 in the last 5 cost us the game as well. Everything is fine (when asked about the stretching he was doing). I bat, I bowl, I field, I skip, so it's okay, it's fair for me to have a game where I just batted and enjoyed myself," he added. Batting first, RR posted a strong 205/8, boosted by late contributions from Jofra Archer and Ravindra Jadeja after a mixed start. MI's bowlers, including Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, picked up crucial wickets to keep them in check. In reply, MI suffered early blows as Archer and Nandre Burger dismantled the top order, reducing them to 49/4 in the powerplay. Despite a fighting half-century from Suryakumar Yadav and a quick 34 from Hardik Pandya, MI kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Archer starred with the ball as well, taking 3/17, while RR bowlers collectively restricted MI to 175/9 in 20 overs, sealing a comprehensive win. (ANI)
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