Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was left searching for answers after yet another IPL defeat — a seven-wicket drubbing at the hands of Punjab Kings — and admitted that his team needs to go back to the drawing board to identify its shortcomings, while hinting that some tough calls could be taken in the upcoming matches.

Mumbai Indians have lost four of their five matches and are languishing in ninth place with just two points, while Punjab Kings sit atop the table with an unbeaten run, collecting nine points so far.

Despite a much-improved showing from Mumbai Indians, powered by Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 112 off 60 balls to post 195 for 6, it proved insufficient against a rampant Punjab Kings side.

Punjab chased down the target in just 16.3 overs for the loss of three wickets, with breakout opener Prabhsimran Singh continuing his fine form with an unbeaten 80 off 39 balls, while captain Shreyas Iyer hammered a 35-ball 66.

Pandya’s Post-Match Analysis

“To be very honest, I don’t have much to say right now. I think we really need to go back on the drawing board and see where are we lacking. Is it individuals? Is it as a group? Is it planning? We’ll just figure it out and see what we can do next,” said Pandya after another morale-shattering loss.

“No, I think we need to see, do we need to make some difficult calls or do we need to keep continuing and hope that we’ll turn things around. These are some harsh questions which eventually we need to answer and yeah, ownership has to be taken.”

Pandya also credited the opposition team for out-thinking the home side in all departments of the game.

Punjab Kings’ Perspective

Iyer said staying grounded has helped the side execute their plans with precision.

“Certainly confident and optimistic the way we have been playing. Also we have our heads on our shoulder. I am glad that today we came out and got that victory,” said Iyer.

He also praised the coming of age of Prabhsimran Singh, noting that the opener has consistently provided fluent starts and on Thursday carried the team through with an unbeaten knock.

“He (Prabhsimran) has certainly raised up his bar, even though he was getting runs, he was giving us excellent starts, this year he has been more mature, match by match he is getting more mature,” added Iyer.

Prabhsimran said self-belief helped him overcome a lean phase in the Powerplay and take on the bowling more aggressively later in the innings.

“I was just believing in myself because the powerplay I didn’t get many balls to play. I think I played 6-7 balls in the powerplay. But then in my mind I thought that if I take a little longer, I will be able to play (better).”

“So I kept believing in myself that I will do it and I did it. I just had this in mind that I will play the anchor,” added Prabhsmiran.