Hardik Pandya takes the fall after narrow loss in the MI vs GT IPL 2025 match

It was a low-scoring thriller at home that brought an end to the high-flying winning streak of the five-time champions in the ongoing IPL season. With the momentum on their side, Mumbai Indians looked well in contention for the win against Gujarat Titans at Wankhede. However, bowling too many extras while defending 155 eventually cost the team heavily in the MI vs GT IPL 2025 match. Almost the entirety of the chase was marred by heavy winds and drizzle. While the drizzle troubled the GT batters, MI came at the receiving end when it transitioned into a heavy downpour. As the match continued into the wee hours, the momentum left MI as the visitors held their nerves to win it by 3 wickets.

Hardik Pandya rues no balls after MI vs GT IPL 2025 defeat

The MI skipper Hardik Pandya rued the extras leaked by the team in the chase while defending 155 against GT in the rain-marred thriller at Wankhede. Jasprit Bumrah proved lethal for GT in the chase, dismissing Shubman Gill and Shahrukh Khan with unplayable length balls that took precise aim at the stumps. Moreover, Boult removed Sherfane Rutherford to seal the deal after the first rain delay in the chase. However, tides changed after the game resumed following the second delay, with the revised equation of Gujarat Titans needing 15 off the last 6 balls.

Hardik Pandya handed the ball to Deepak Chahar instead of going himself. The pacer leaked a six and a four against Gerald Coetzee and Rahul Tewatia. While Coetzee was sent back on a rogue hit, a no-ball in the last over brought MI's downfall at home. With just 1 needed off the last ball, GT claimed the narrow win to take another two points and rise to the top of the IPL 2025 points table. Following the match, Pandya opened up about the factors that cost his team the MI vs GT match.

The skipper did not mince his words as he termed the no-balls as a 'crime' in the shorter format. Pandya, in his spell of 3 overs, bowled two no-balls. Meanwhile, Chahar's no-ball came at a point too crucial. In a stern judgment, Pandya explained that even dropped catches could be exempted, but there's no point of return from giving away free hits off no-balls.

“It is a crime,” Pandya said. “Catches did not really cost us, but the no-balls, with my no-balls and even in the last no-ball, in my eyes in T20s, it is a crime and more often than not, it bites you," he added.

“Yes, definitely (tough way to go down). We fought well with the total we had. Most of the time, we were out of the game, but we pushed as a group. It was a game of margins," the MI captain further said in reference to the hard-hitting loss.