"We Never Gave Up": Hardik Pandya After Mumbai Indians' Second Victory In IPL 2025

A memorable 89-run knock by Karun Nair on his Indian Premier League (IPL) comeback went in vain as an unbelievable batting collapse towards the end, which included a hat-trick of runouts, cost Delhi Capitals (DC) a win against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first game of the season at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday by 12 runs. After the victory, MI skipper Hardik Pandya praised Karun Nair's batting and Karn Sharma's bravery and character for bowling aggressively despite the short boundaries. He emphasised the team's unwavering spirit and their determination to stay in the contest and highlighted everyone's contributions in holding onto their chances.

"He (Karun) was batting brilliantly, it seemed like it was going out of hand. (On Karn Sharma) Shows great character, to be brave and toss it up when the boundaries are just 60m long. We never gave up, we kept saying we want to stay in the contest. Everyone put their hand up and we were able to hold on to our chances," Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation.

He explained the rationale behind the batting order, aiming to provide opportunities for players to regain form. He acknowledged the impact of dew on the game and emphasised the importance of staying in the fight and the potential for a couple of wickets to change the momentum. He concluded by highlighting the significance of such wins in boosting morale and turning things around.

On the batting order, he said, "Wanted to get the players in form to face the most balls. Dew played a big factor later on, it got very dewy. Just by making sure the game is not over, "keep fighting" was the chatter. We knew a couple of wickets would change the game. It has happened with me before as well, wins like this change