Hardik Pandya reassured fans that Rohit Sharma’s recent struggles with form were not a concern for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). On April 20, Rohit showcased his skills by winning the Player of the Match award as MI defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Rohit played a stellar inning, scoring 76 runs off 45 balls, including six fours and five sixes, as MI successfully chased down a target of 177 runs with 26 balls to spare. He also formed a solid partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, who contributed 68 runs and smashed the winning six off Matheesha Pathirana.
Earlier in the tournament, Rohit had a tough start, managing only 82 runs in his first six matches. However, he bounced back in this match, showing the form MI had been waiting for. Hardik commented in the post-match presentation, “You don’t have to worry about Rohit’s form. He’s going to perform well again. We knew that when he gets going, he can turn the game around. SKY complemented him beautifully today.”
MI opted to bowl first and managed to restrict CSK to 176 runs for five wickets. Hardik noted that MI has been focusing on playing smart and simple cricket. “The players are stepping up, and we are playing percentage cricket. We’re sticking to the basics and not trying to do anything too fancy. We needed to keep things tight as we knew they were behind in the game,” he explained.
Despite some struggles with the fast bowlers, Hardik felt confident that a score of 175 was manageable. “It wasn’t far from being a good match for us. We needed to work on closing out a couple of overs that have cost us in the past,” he added.
Looking ahead, MI is set to face Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 23 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
