(Image source from: Crictoday.com)

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was penalized with a deduction of 10 percent from his match pay and received one Demerit Point for violating Level 1 of the IPL's Code of Conduct during the IPL 2026 game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. The incident occurred in the 10th over of KKR's batting innings when Hardik forcefully knocked off the bails while heading back to his run-up. He was found to have violated Article 2.2 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, which relates to "mistreatment of cricket equipment or clothing, as well as ground equipment or fixtures during a match. " Kolkata Knight Riders achieved a 4-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians to maintain their hopes of entering the Playoffs. "Yes, it was quite entertaining. As a batting team, we were around 20 runs short. We lost quite a few wickets in the powerplay, but if Tilak and I had batted longer and created a couple more partnerships to gain those 15-20 runs, we might have had a good chance. (How was the pitch? ) Honestly, I’m fine playing on pitches where bowlers have some advantage. It seems like the IPL is favoring batters more. "

"Bowlers are feeling powerless. I believe today's match gave bowlers some benefit from the pitch, allowing them to bowl good deliveries and challenge the batsmen to score runs. So, I actually enjoyed it. (What was happening on the field? ) I'm not sure. I think our fielding has been quite poor this season. We have dropped many catches, which nobody wants to do. In that situation, there is no escaping responsibility. If you get opportunities, to win matches, you must take every chance, even the half chances too."

"But yes, when you miss chances that could change the outcome of the game, you are always playing catch-up. (Do you want to end the season positively? ) Definitely. It's an ESA game. It’s for the kids. We just want to make sure we bring smiles to those 25,000 children, let them come see us play, and entertain them, making them happy. I believe it'll create lifelong memories for them," Hardik expressed after the match.