Follow UsMumbai Indians continue their winning run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with their sixth win on the trot, a 100-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, on May 1 (Thursday). The five-time IPL champions smashed the Royals, scoring 217 runs in the first innings, on the back of a 38-ball 61 from Ryan Rickleton.
The duo of Suryakumar Yadav (48) and Hardik Pandya (48) took them to 217/2. Despite that, MI skipper Pandya reckoned they could have got another 15 runs.
"The way we batted, and we were clinical with the ball - so absolutely [a perfect game]. We could have got another 15 runs. What we were trying to speak to each other was to play percentage shots. Surya and I said there's value for shots... Ro and Ryan batted the same way. I think it was absolutely fantastic,” Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
Hardik walked out to bat at No.4, ahead of Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir, his first-ever appearance at that position since the last IPL. When asked about the reasoning behind that promotion, Hardik said it was what the situation required.
“It is never about people getting chances; it's about what is required in the situation. People are going back to batsmanship. As a group, the way we batted was proper batsmanship,” he said.
However, the all-rounder didn’t want to look too far ahead in the future, stating that the franchise must now remain humble and disciplined.
I don't know who all to mention [among the bowlers]. Everyone is really clear. We're going back to simple cricket, and it's working for that. We want to take game by game, and be humble and disciplined."
MI next play Gujarat Titans on May 6 (Tuesday), which could really play a long way in settling the top two spot for the IPL 2025 playoffs.