Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya blamed top-order collapse after his team succumbed to a four-wicket defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (April 30).

Invited to bat first, MI found themselves reeling at 28/4 after powerplay with pacers Mohsin Khan, Marcus Stoinis and Naveen-ul-Haq doing the early damage.

Rohit Sharma (4), Suryakumar Yadav (10), Tilak Varma (7) and Hardik (0) got out cheaply as Ishan Kishan (32), Nehal Wadhera (46) and Tim David (35) somehow took the five-time champions to 144/7 in 20 overs.

In reply, LSG overhauled the target with four deliveries to spare. Stoinis starred with the bat as he scored 62 off 45 balls during the chase.

"Definitely, losing early wickets in the powerplay is tough to recover from. Where we needed the most, we could not do well," Hardik said in the post-match presentation.

On being asked if high scores this season have put more pressure on his team’s batters, the MI captain remarked, "Not really, you still have to see the ball and hit. The wicket was good. The ball was there to be hit and we just missed, that sort of season for us so far. I have always believed that whenever you take to the field, sometimes you will be down, sometimes you will be up, and you have to fight. It looks difficult but there are a lot of things you can learn from this game."

Hardik Pandya was effusive praise of Wadhera, who returned with 46 off 41 balls when Mumbai’s innings was falling apart.

"He has been fantastic, the way he batted against Rajasthan and tonight. He did fantastic last year as well. It was because of the team combination that he could not play early. Looking at his talent, he will play for a lot of years for Mumbai and for India eventually," Hardik stated.

It was MI’s seventh loss in 10 matches this season. They are currently holding the ninth spot in the 10-team points table.

Mumbai Indians will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (May 3).