IPL 2025: Ryan Rickelton reveals the reason behind the defeat to PBKS

Mumbai Indians opening batter Ryan Rickelton has opened up on where it went wrong for the franchise as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat to the Punjab Kings in their last league game of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday, May 26.

Unfortunately, MI had to settle for the fourth rank in the standings, and they have to play the eliminator with the third-ranked side. Had Mumbai defeated Punjab Kings on Monday, they could’ve secured the top two spot in the standings, enhancing their title-winning chances.

Moving into the details of the game, the Mumbai Indians were entrusted to bat first after losing the toss. No.3 batter Suryakumar Yadav was the top scorer with 57 in 39 balls with six fours and two sixes as MI posted 184/7 in 20 overs.

In the chase, Priyansh Arya and Josh Inglis looked impressive. While Arya smacked 62 in 35 balls with nine fours and two sixes, Inglis scored 73 in 42 balls with nine fours and three sixes to win the player of the match award. PBKS won the game in 18.3 overs with seven wickets in hand.

“We were 20 runs short. By saying that, I don't think we minded batting first and would have defended 200 with our bowling attack. I just think we lost wickets at crucial times of the game and therefore, we didn't manage to get that extra 20 runs. We weren't as clinical as we’ve been in the past,” Rickelton said in the post-match press conference.

“It's a bit of a wake-up call but I don't think it's the end of the world. If we sharpen up a bit, we can blow teams out of the water,” he added.

“There wasn't a lot of turn on offer, but I think the wind hustling across the ground made it easier to go harder at a ball that you might not necessarily go hard at if you're sent to the wicket with no wind,” he asserted.

“I guess it was more of a defensive role today [for the spinners] rather than an attacking one due to the conditions of the wickets and the size of the ground and the wind, which always makes a big difference in T20 cricket,” Rickelton observed.

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