Back to the drawing board for Mumbai after third straight IPL defeat, Pandya says

Mumbai Indians need a major rethink after suffering a third consecutive defeat in the Indian Premier League on Sunday, said captain Hardik Pandya.

Mumbai lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, leaving the five-times champions eighth in the 10-team table with just two points from four matches.

Despite boasting several Twenty20 World Cup winning players - including Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma - Mumbai have struggled to generate any momentum.

“A lot of things need a rethink. But we have to see other options we can have, with the bat and the ball,” Pandya said at the post-match presentation.

“We need to still bat and bowl well. If you do that, irrespective of the toss (we should be fine).”

Mumbai’s struggles have been most evident in the powerplay.

The lack of early wickets and limited support for Bumrah has raised concerns about the bowling attack, with opponents able to see off the India pacer before targeting the rest.

“Last couple of games, as a bowling and batting unit, we have been catching up. Really need to reflect on what best we can do … and how to get some momentum in the powerplay,” Pandya said.

Suryakumar, batting at number three, is not firing on all cylinders while Varma’s failures have put more pressure on the batting unit.

Pandya could look at moving Naman Dhir up the batting order to inject intent early, while England all-rounder Will Jacks may offer better balance in place of Mitchell Santner.

Mumbai next face Punjab Kings on Thursday, while third-placed RCB meet Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday.