Follow UsMumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya said Tilak Varma not being able to hit boundaries was the reason why he was retired out against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The left-hander scored 25 off 23 in the 204-run chase and became the fourth batter to retire out in the IPL.
Tilak could only hit two fours in the 23 deliveries he faced, so the 22-year-old was retired out to make way for Mitchell Santner in the penultimate over. It didn’t make any difference, as MI fell short by 12 runs and suffered their third defeat in the IPL 2025.
“It was obvious. We needed some hits, he was not getting those. In cricket some of those days come, when you try but they don't come,” said Pandya.
Asked to bat first, LSG put up a 200-plus total for the first time in Lucknow. Pandya admitted that Mumbai conceded 10-15 runs extra, but didn’t point out any batter for messing up the run-chase. Naman Dhir (46 off 24) and Suryakumar Yadav (67 off 43) gave a solid platform but Tilak could never get going.
Pandya had 22 runs to get in the final over against Avesh Khan but failed to get the job done despite smashing the first ball for a six. “Disappointing when you lose. If we had to be honest, in the field, 10-12 runs we gave too much. We fell short in the end,” said Pandya.
“As a batting unit, we fell short. We win as a team, we lose as a team. I take full ownership.”
Pandya himself had a pretty good game. Before scoring 28 off 16 balls, the right-arm seamer claimed 5/36 in four overs - his best figures in T20s.
“Always enjoyed my bowling. I don't have many options but I read the wicket and use smarter options. I never go for wickets but try to make batters make mistakes. Today was one of those days.”
LSG captain Rishabh Pant heaped heavy praise on Mitchell Marsh (31-ball 60) and Digvesh Singh Rathi (1/21). "When a player like Mitch Marsh gives us a start like that, it gives time to the middle-order. That's the idea; we want to play according to the situation, and the kind of start we get puts us in a good state."
Digvesh was named Player of the Match as he was the only LSG bowler with an economy of less than 10. "He is one of our leading bowlers. The way he's holding his nerve, it's good to see a youngster perform like that."