"Nothing MI Could Have Done": Kevin Pietersen's Big Attack On Hardik Pandya And Co After RR Loss

Rajasthan Royals are enjoying a memorable run in IPL 2026. Riyan Parag and Co. have won all three of their opening matches and are currently sitting at the top of the points table. Their recent win over Mumbai Indians in a rain-curtailed match on Tuesday highlighted the depth and balance of the RR squad. In the 11-overs-a-side contest played in Guwahati, Rajasthan posted an imposing total of 150/3, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 39 and 77 runs respectively. In reply, MI were restricted to 123/9, suffering their second consecutive defeat of the season.

As RR continued their dominant run in the tournament, former England captain Kevin Pietersen took to X (formerly Twitter) to heap praise on the opening partnership between Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal. Pietersen remarked that the contest was so one-sided that Mumbai Indians could not have done much to change the outcome.

"There is NOTHING the Mumbai Indians could have done last night to win that game. On a night like that, when Yash & Vaibhav bat like that, you just have to acknowledge brilliance. It was striking of the highest order! Onto the next...," Pietersen wrote.

There is NOTHING the Mumbai Indians could have done last night to win that game.
On a night like that, when Yash & Vaibhav bat like that, you just have to say acknowledge brilliance.
It was striking of the highest order!
Onto the next….

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) April 8, 2026

Among those impressed by Sooryavanshi's performance was MI captain Hardik Pandya, who made a special gesture to congratulate the youngster after the game.

"It's quite fascinating to see a 16- or 17-year-old boy playing the way he did. At the same time, we discussed him a lot during our preparation leading up to the game," Pandya said while speaking about Sooryavanshi.

"So yeah, it was amazing to see the way he bats - the kind of fearlessness he has and the shots he plays. I wish him absolute good luck for the future," he added.

However, Hardik was critical of MI's bowling unit, stating that they needed to take greater responsibility.

"I wouldn't put this game on the batting. This was definitely on the bowling unit, which had to take responsibility. In T20 cricket, it's all about bowling a few balls right. If you look at the 27-run margin, we're talking about five good balls and five fewer sixes. If we had executed the right deliveries, we would have been in the game," Hardik said.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Yashasvi Jaiswal Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Kevin Pietersen Hardik Pandya IPL 2026 Cricket