Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a six-wicket defeat in the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday (April 29).

Riding on Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 123 off 55 balls, MI racked up a mammoth 243/5 on the board, but SRH reached the target with eight deliveries to spare.

The chase was led by a 129-run opening stand between Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24), followed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 off 30 balls.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, MI skipper Hardik Pandya felt dew wasn't a major factor, attributing the loss to bad balls bowled and SRH's flying start.

“I don't think dew played much of a role, just that they played some good shots, we bowled some bad balls, they got to a flyer. I think we did pull it back, but it was not enough,” Hardik said.

While Hardik expressed confidence in his bowling lineup, he admitted they failed to execute the game plan on this occasion.

“Yeah, I think 244, I think I'll back my bowlers to stop it, but some other day today we could not execute. Myself, really enjoyed bowling as well, barring the last three balls, but other than that, really enjoyed myself,” he added.

Pandya mentioned that not taking opportunities to grab key wickets caused momentum to shift against them.

“Yes, I think it's been that kind of season. When you get a couple of chances, you grab them, that's when the luck and momentum changes. If you don't, it kind of hurts you, but it's still fine. All the boys tried really well. They gave everything, it did not work out,” he stated.

The captain refused to throw his bowlers "under the bus," citing a lack of options and the need to evaluate what adjustments can be made, stating they need to "figure out something" with the management.

“I think this season we don't have much option, we really need to see what all differences we can do. I won't put my bowlers under the bus. I think as an overall unit, we have not been able to do what exactly Mumbai Indians stands for. We really need to see what all we need to work on and it's fine. I think we have passionate owners, we have passionate support staff. We always figure out something,” he remarked.

Despite the poor performance, Hardik Pandya praised the loyal fans but expressed that it hurts to see opposition teams receiving cheers, stressing the need for the team to perform better to earn their trust.

“I think we have not given them much opportunity to back us. But yeah, they have been quite fantastic. They have been loyal. They have been fantastic. Yeah, sometimes it hurts when the opposition team comes and they start chanting their names. We need to entertain them more to make sure we get that love and trust from them,” he concluded.

This was MI’s sixth defeat in eight outings this season. Currently languishing at ninth spot in the team standings, they will next face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on Saturday (May 2).