 "Hardik Pandya addresses decision to retire out Tilak Varma after MI fall short in another thriller: 'I take full ownership'")
Mumbai Indians suffered their third defeat in four matches in the IPL 2025 season, going down in another nail-biter despite being in control for a large part of the run chase. With questions being raised around the team’s strategies, particularly the decision to retire out Tilak Varma in the penultimate over of the chase, MI captain Hardik Pandya stepped up and took responsibility.
Pandya takes the blame for the loss
“I take full ownership,” Pandya said after the match. “We win as a team, we lose as a team. As a batting unit, we fell short. In the field, we gave 10-12 runs too many. That made the difference.”
The biggest talking point of the game came when Tilak Varma was retired out in the chase as he was struggling to score quickly. Mitchell Santner was sent in by the think tank to finish for MI and provide support to Hardik, but in vain as LSG won by 12 runs. It is an extremely rare move in IPL. This is only they fourth time a player was retired out in the IPL.
Explaining the bold call, Pandya said, “We needed some hits, and Tilak was not getting those. In cricket, some days come when you try, but the runs just don’t come. It was purely a tactical decision.”
LSG keep calm and finish strong
While MI grappled with tough decisions, LSG celebrated a hard-fought win with captain Rishabh Pant hailing his side’s calm under pressure. “Mentally tough game,” Pant said. “They did not lose a lot of wickets and kept on going. But we kept our calm and finished the game.”
Pant credited the foundation laid by the top order and praised the bowling unit’s execution at the death. “When you get a good start, you are always ahead of the game. The idea is to play according to the situation. [Shardul] has been amazing for us, he has been an amazing pick. [Rathi] is one of our leading bowlers. The way he keeps calm in tough situations helps us.”
The star of the night was Digvesh Rathi, LSG’s young mystery spinner, who walked away with the Player of the Match award. “I am really enjoying it. My bowling is such that I like to take wickets. I saw Sunil Narine bowl and since then I like bowling. I want to make my mindset more attacking like him.”
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