With four defeats in five matches, former champions Mumbai Indians ( MI ) are yet to find consistency as they struggle to bury the demons of last Indian Premier League (IPL) season when they finished at the bottom of the table. But coach Mahela Jayawardene has full faith in the core of his squad to turn it around before it's too late.
MI lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 12 runs during a run-fest at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. The defeat pushed MI to No. 8 on the points table while RCB moved up to number three with their third win in four matches.
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Mumbai's batting once again couldn't strike as a unit, while the team received a much-needed boost in the form of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah's return, who bowled a four-over spell with figures of 0/29. On the other hand, batting icon Rohit Sharma continued his poor form, scoring only 17, and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav (28) remained below par.
When asked if the playing XI warrants any change, MI coach Jayawardene said, "Not really... I still back the senior pros; and all the guys I put out there, they have the skill. It's just that we need to be a bit more ruthless and at times we're missing out on those one or two overs where we lose our discipline. That's with the bat as well, so it's something we need to rectify.
"Losing is not a great thing," he added. "You start doubting yourself and sometimes a fresh face coming into this kind of situation might be even tougher for that (player) as well without the experience. The guys who have the experience, (they) know (how) to handle tough situations and be mentally stronger going forward. That's something that we will bank on."
However, Jayawardene admitted that their batting needs to fire in unison to leave an impact, and they need to bat and bowl a lot better during powerplay.
"...Powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. The last few games, we were leaking too many runs with the ball in the powerplay; we're not getting the starts and losing wickets, especially at Wankhede," he said.
Rohit has scores of 0, 8, 13 and 17 in the four matches he has played so far in this IPL, and two of those dismissals have come against left-arm pacers.
"I'm sure Ro (Rohit) has been working on it; he's been practicing hard and he's a very experienced player. I'm sure that (Rohit struggles against left-arm pace) is not the thing; he was trying to give us a good start and he played some really good shots.
"Yash (Dayal) bowled a good ball, it was late swing and fuller, got through Ro's defence. When you have played the game for that long, you need to sometimes give credit to the bowlers as well. I wouldn't read into that too much but it's something that I'm sure that Ro will work hard on," the coach asserted.
Chasing RCB's formidable total of 221 for 5, MI came close before falling short and finished at 209/9.
Captain Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) and Tilak Verma (56 off 29) did their best, but failed to take MI through.
"When Hardik walked in to bat, the conversation I had with him (was) try and see whether you can get three big overs in and that's what he delivered and the momentum changed. Tilak started going as well, so we were close, but not good enough," Jayawardene analysed.
"The emotions were great for a while, but we have to be realistic that we're not playing the best cricket that we could play."
MI lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 12 runs during a run-fest at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. The defeat pushed MI to No. 8 on the points table while RCB moved up to number three with their third win in four matches.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Mumbai's batting once again couldn't strike as a unit, while the team received a much-needed boost in the form of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah's return, who bowled a four-over spell with figures of 0/29. On the other hand, batting icon Rohit Sharma continued his poor form, scoring only 17, and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav (28) remained below par.
First game back & first dressing room award for Boom 🔥
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 8, 2025
Welcome back, Jassi Bhai 💙#MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai #TATAIPL #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/0eTrKqbQwB
When asked if the playing XI warrants any change, MI coach Jayawardene said, "Not really... I still back the senior pros; and all the guys I put out there, they have the skill. It's just that we need to be a bit more ruthless and at times we're missing out on those one or two overs where we lose our discipline. That's with the bat as well, so it's something we need to rectify.
"Losing is not a great thing," he added. "You start doubting yourself and sometimes a fresh face coming into this kind of situation might be even tougher for that (player) as well without the experience. The guys who have the experience, (they) know (how) to handle tough situations and be mentally stronger going forward. That's something that we will bank on."
However, Jayawardene admitted that their batting needs to fire in unison to leave an impact, and they need to bat and bowl a lot better during powerplay.
"...Powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. The last few games, we were leaking too many runs with the ball in the powerplay; we're not getting the starts and losing wickets, especially at Wankhede," he said.
Kudos on a mammoth effort, boys! We will build on this 💪#MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai #TATAIPL #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/hsSZuv4dVA
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 7, 2025
Rohit has scores of 0, 8, 13 and 17 in the four matches he has played so far in this IPL, and two of those dismissals have come against left-arm pacers.
"I'm sure Ro (Rohit) has been working on it; he's been practicing hard and he's a very experienced player. I'm sure that (Rohit struggles against left-arm pace) is not the thing; he was trying to give us a good start and he played some really good shots.
"Yash (Dayal) bowled a good ball, it was late swing and fuller, got through Ro's defence. When you have played the game for that long, you need to sometimes give credit to the bowlers as well. I wouldn't read into that too much but it's something that I'm sure that Ro will work hard on," the coach asserted.
Chasing RCB's formidable total of 221 for 5, MI came close before falling short and finished at 209/9.
Peak Hardik. Peak cinema. 💥
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 8, 2025
Wankhede witnessed a knock for the ages from HP 🙌#MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai #TATAIPL #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/0NRwZ04B5e
Captain Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) and Tilak Verma (56 off 29) did their best, but failed to take MI through.
"When Hardik walked in to bat, the conversation I had with him (was) try and see whether you can get three big overs in and that's what he delivered and the momentum changed. Tilak started going as well, so we were close, but not good enough," Jayawardene analysed.
"The emotions were great for a while, but we have to be realistic that we're not playing the best cricket that we could play."
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