EXCLUSIVE
Follow UsMumbai Indians are on the cusp of elimination from the playoffs race in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 following their eighth straight loss against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
With six more matches to go in the season, MI are rooted to the bottom with no points against their name. Former Indian women's team coach WV Raman described MI as a team stuck in quick sand.
"You have to really feel for them. Its like the entire team is stuck in a quicksand, the harder they try to get out, the worse it is getting. We are into the halfway stage and nobody can suggest anything to them. They've tried everything, but its not happening," Raman said on Cricket.com's match review.
Chasing 169, MI started reasonably well with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan adding 49 for the first wicket, but a flurry of wickets at the top and the end derailed their innings.
Even though MI batters played poorly, Raman said that LSG captain Rahul's game-reading skills and team mentor Gautam Gambhir's tactical ingenuity won them the game.
"More than anything, the situational awareness of KL Rahul and especially Gautam Gambhir (LSG mentor) triumphed at the end. Let's not forget Gambhir is shrewd tactician as a captain and that's how he won two titles with KKR. He is guiding Rahul, who is also a great reader of the game. Even when he was batting, he took his time and he realized that they could manage 160-170 and he could managed things on the field. What all plans he had, he executed them very well," Raman said.
"He also understood that Bishnoi was not bowling really well and decided to sneak in an over with Badoni, who has not bowled till now. Suryakumar would not have expected to be dismissed by him," he added.
Rahul the batter had another excellent outing with the bat as scored an unbeaten 103 from 62 balls. By doing so, the right-hander now has a staggering 867 runs in 16 innings against MI, including five fifties and three hundreds.
"When there is bit of dampness in the pitch the ball grips for a while. When Rahul realized that the pitch was drying out, he unleashed an array of shots and he was the boss. It was like he knew exactly where bowlers were going to bowl," Raman said.
Dushmantha Chameera was crucial for LSG with the new ball and at the death. The Sri Lankan pacer bowled 15 dot balls and gave away 14 runs from four overs to pile the pressure on MI batters. Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan, who came in for Avesh Khan, also restricted MI with 1-27 from his four overs.
The duo provided the platform for Jason Holder and Krunal Pandya to take the wickets at the end. Raman said that the complementary nature of their bowlers has worked well for LSG.
"I feel they complement each other. Mohsin Khan came in for Avesh and he bowled superbly. It is easy for a youngster to get overawed by the big strikers. Chameera was brilliant over the wicket and round the wicket. You could see how he had sussed out Kieron Pollard. Their bowling unit did their job extraordinarily well. That's what can win tournaments," he said.
Kishan's heavy price tag, MI's selection conundrum
Ishan Kishan, MI's biggest buy in the auction at Rs. 15.25 Crore, looked terribly out of touch as he scored 8 off 20 balls and was dismissed in a strange manner in Ravi Bishnoi's bowling. After starting the season with two fifties, the left hander's form dwindled as he scored 24 runs in the last four innings.
Raman felt that the 23-year old has been hesitant with his shot selection.
"We have seen that a lot of players carry that cross when they are bought for big sums of money. It is easy for people to say 'You've been paid huge money, so you have deliver.' But it humans who play this sport and human elements come into it. Ishan Kishan is a young man and obviously is on a learning curve. Technically, there is not a lot wrong except hesistancy and he's not clear in his mind. He usually goes out to dominate the bowling, but there's a bit of hesitancy creeping into his shots," Raman said.
For the match, Mumbai chose to go with just one spinner, leaving out Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande on a pitch that was gripping early on. Raman opined that the decision might be inspired by the pacer-friendly nature of the pitches in the tournament.
"I feel Mumbai Indians have decided to follow the template of Sunrisers. They think they got good fast bowlers for the pitches in here. I feel it is a case where they think 'Why go to spinners just for the sake of playing spinners.' It is important that the players have the confidence of the captain and Rohit might've felt that he is better served by his fast bowlers."
Despite their fumbling batting unit, Hyderabad teenager Tilak Varma has been a stand out for MI scoring 272 runs from eight matches at strike rate of 140.2. The youngster was crucial in resurrecting the chase with a 27-ball 38.
"He's got fantastic temperament. But the other important thing is that, he is getting the runs when the team needs someone. He did it against CSK and he did it today as well. He couldn't do it all the way through today, but you cannot expect one batter to do all the things. He has displayed his skills and courage which is very heartening. I feel everyone will watch him with much more interest," Raman said.
