MI lost to RCB by 18 runs in a high-scoring affair at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai Indians (MI) succumbed to an 18-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 12).
Asked to bat first, RCB piled up a massive 240/4 in 20 overs, on the back of half-centuries from Phil Salt (78 off 36 balls), Virat Kohli (50 off 38 balls), Rajat Patidar (53 off 20) and Tim David’s cameo (34* off 16).
Despite an explosive, unbeaten 71 off just 31 balls by Impact Player Sherfane Rutherford and a notable contribution from skipper Hardik Pandya (40 off 22), MI fell short and finished at 222/5.
After the game, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin heavily criticized Hardik for his tactical errors, specifically regarding his bowling choices against Patidar.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin pointed out that Hardik handed the ball to leg-spinner Mayank Markande despite being aware of Patidar’s reputation as a monstrous hitter of spin,
He referenced a 2024 IPL match between SRH and RCB, where Patidar had hammered Markande for four sixes in a single over. As it turned out, the RCB captain hit three consecutive sixes off Markande in this occasion.
"This SRH vs RCB 2024 game was where Rajat Patidar announced that he is a spin hitter. He was hitting Markande into every corner," Ashwin said in the video.
"There are some common things between these two big overs. The first ball was taken by Virat Kohli, he took a single, and everything else was the same. There he hit four sixes, here he hit three," he added.
Ashwin deemed the decision "very, very average" and noted that this tactical move was a major difference-maker, causing MI to concede too many runs during a crucial phase of the game.
"Rajat Patidar is a monster hitter against spinners. When he came to bat, you gave the ball to Markande straight away? Not the smartest of moves. Very, very average."
"It is very important to understand what Markande thinks. Patidar hit him and washed him in Hyderabad, and here, he hit him from the very first ball again," Ashwin stated.
Markande ended up conceding 40 runs in two overs (an economy rate of 20.00). MI’s second spinner Mitchell Santner leaked 43 runs in his full quota of four overs. Overall, the six overs bowled by the tweakers cost Mumbai 83 runs.
"Here, the difference is between 210 and 240. Mayank Markande: two overs, 40 runs. Today, the spinners went for 83 runs total. I think Santner went for 43 as well," Ashwin remarked.