India, April 24 -- Former Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh rushed to Hardik Pandya's defence, who has been on the receiving end of criticism lately. MI crashed to their fifth defeat of IPL 2026 on Thursday, losing by 103 runs to Chennai Super Kings. Nothing really seemed to be working for Hardik, who is also the MI skipper, as Sanju Samson took on opposition bowlers with ease.

The CSK opener smacked an unbeaten knock of 101* runs off 54 balls, packed with 10 fours and six maximums, and he was striking at 187.04. Samson got his ton in the final ball of the first innings, hitting a six, as CSk reached 207/6 in 20 overs. In response, the MI batting order crumbled with ease, with only Suryakumar Yadav (36) and Tilak Varma (37) getting double...