MI coach Mahela Jayawardene pleased with how his side have bounced back after bad start; says team will go all out in tonight’s must-win clash vs DC
Mumbai Indians opener Rohit Sharma during a practice session at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Wednesday’s IPL fixture between five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) is akin to the hare and the tortoise race.
Hardik Pandya’s MI began their IPL-18 campaign losing four out of their first five games, before bouncing back to win the next six matches successively. On the other hand, the Axar Patel-led DC impressed everyone by winning their initial four games, but then suffered a 12-run defeat to MI on April 13, and thereafter managed to win just two games (vs Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants) in their last seven encounters.
Both teams eye Playoff spot
MI are on 14 points while DC are on 13 and the winner of this fixture will have a good chance of making the Playoffs. Three other teams — Gujarat Titans (18 points), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17) and Punjab Kings (17) have already sealed their spot in the Playoffs.
Mahela Jayawardene. Pic/Satej Shinde
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene wants his boys to just keep it simple as they look to win this battle. “The message from me to the boys was to make sure that we go through our routines, our processes, the way we train, the way we plan and the way we’ve gone about this tournament. I’m very happy, the intensity, the way they’ve reacted to certain situations. We just need to do the same, it’s that simple. We’ll go out and try and play our best game of cricket tomorrow [Wednesday],” Jayawardene told reporters at the match-eve press conference on Tuesday.
While recalling the early struggle in the tournament and their strong comeback, the former Sri Lankan captain said: “For us, every game was a must-win from that situation and the boys reacted pretty well. The last game [on May 6 at Wankhede, which they lost to GT by three wickets], we gave ourselves a great opportunity. We fought well after the mistakes we had made. So I’m not worried about the brand of cricket we’re playing and reacting to situations. This is what we’ve all built for the IPL,” he said.
Meanwhile, DC bowling coach and former India pacer Munaf Patel admitted that there is pressure on his team going into this must-win game. “If we lose [against MI], we will be out, so there’s no other option. It’s an away game for us and we’re playing in Mumbai, so obviously there’s pressure on our players, on our seniors,” Munaf said at the pre-match press conference.
Cloudy conditions
On match eve, both teams, who were seen practising under cloudy conditions, will be hoping rain stays away the following day. It will also be interesting to see if MI opener Rohit Sharma can send a ball or two sailing into the new stand named after him at the Wankhede recently.
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