It was a challenging match, let’s face it. But despite not having much to defend, Mumbai Indians once again showcased their resilience, engaging in a thrilling cricket battle with Lucknow Super Giants. Unfortunately though, we were handed a four-wicket defeat in a low-scoring encounter in Lucknow on Tuesday (April 30).

There were too many narratives to take away from this game, but it all came down to a few margins - especially from MI’s perspective of adding a couple more partnerships on the board to set a comfortable defence.

Nehal Wadhera, a true warrior on the field, poured his heart into the batting and contributed a remarkable 46 runs off 41 balls. His performance was a testament to his dedication and love for the game, as he spoke to the media at the post-match press conference.

Firstly, he agreed on the missed opportunities. “Four of our wickets fell quite early. If one side (of the ground) was smaller and we had a good match-up, we could have taken a chance at that moment,” Nehal said.

“At that time, it would have been better to hit boundary fours, which we were doing later on. Ishan (Kishan) hit two or three fours very well. After that, as soon as he got out, it was my responsibility to take the team forward, which I did. But, I missed some opportunities the opposition bowlers gave me. Had I played those, I would have scored 10-15 or at least 20-25 extra runs.”

The opponents made the best use of the conditions available which were slow and aided spin, especially spinner Ravi Bishnoi.

“Their (LSG bowlers) slow balls were not coming onto the bat properly, so it was gripping,” he added.

“And you saw Ravi Bishnoi, with the pace with which he was bowling, the ball was turning well, which I wasn't expecting. It was turning a lot. The game would have been different if it were 10-15 runs more on our scoreboard.”

Diving a bit further on the pitch conditions, Nehal reserved special praise for Tim David, who has continued to play some vital knocks in the later stages of the past few games.

“This is India's biggest ground, so boundaries and sixes don't apply. One could manage only singles and doubles, like Ishan and I were playing at the start. It would have been good to go further with that strategy of hitting singles and doubles. But later, Tim (David) came down and batted very well. It is not easy to hit sixes at will on this ground. You can look back at its history, but the way Tim kept hitting the ball was commendable,” the southpaw said.

Paltan, we may have faced a setback, but we are far from being written off. With four more games to decide our progress in the tournament, we are determined to bounce back. As always, we love to produce surprises. Remember 2014 and 2015? Keep the support going, Paltan, as we come back to our home, our Wankhede, our Mumbai, for a fresh start.