Mumbai, April 23 -- Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that his side failed to cope with early setbacks in the crushing 103-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL 2026 "El Clasico" clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night.

Speaking after the match, Pandya said losing early wickets in the powerplay put MI on the back foot while chasing a challenging target of 208.

"I think that in the power play, losing that early wicket is always going to be tricky. You are always chasing the game, and we could not cope after that," Pandya said.

Addressing questions on whether the pitch behaved differently during the chase, the MI skipper dismissed the suggestion and credited CSK's batting performance.

"I woul...