NEW DELHI: Succumbing to their eighth defeat in 11 games on Friday, Mumbai Indians chances of qualifying for the playoffs this IPL season were all but over.
Amidst a disastrous season, skipper Hardik Pandya seemed as if he was groping in the dark for replies to all the unanswered questions hounding the five-time champions.
Hardik, who was handed over the captaincy after the franchise removed national captain Rohit Sharma, himself has been at the receiving end of the fans' wrath, with constant booing and jeering. To go with that, Hardik's poor form with both bat and ball has also been under constant criticism and scrutiny.
Amid all the negative chatter around him and the franchise, Hardik said that he keeps telling himself to keep fighting.
"You keep fighting, that's what I keep telling myself. Never leave the battlefield, tough days come but good also come here. It's challenging, but you take the challenges and they make you better," Hardik said at the post-match presentation.
"There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say. Obviously, we couldn't form partnerships and kept losing wickets. Bowlers did a fantastic job on this track," Pandya said after his team failed to score 170, losing to KKR at home for the first time in 12 years.
His opposite number Shreyas Iyer was delighted that his team is on the cusp of a play-off berth.
"We are (knocking at the door) at the moment. Lot of thinking would have gone behind that (had we lost today). Just got to know about the stat (of KKR not winning at Wankhede for 12 years)... "
The "Impact Player" rule did help KKR as Manish Pandey, who came in at the fall of the fifth wicket, contributed 42 priceless runs.
"This Impact Player rule specifically helped us in this game. Manish has being eyeing an opportunity from the first game. We got to a commendable total. I told the boys that if we have got here, we can defend it," Iyer said.
(With inputs from PTI)
