The 41st match of the Indian Premier League saw action between arch-rivals Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. MI crushed Super Kings by 10 wickets and 46 balls to spare. The season was also already no less than a nightmare for the yellow army, and this game turned it worse. Batting first, CSK posted below-average 114 on the board. Young Sam Curran came up as a one-man army as he smashed 52 off 47.
Trent Boult was named as the player of the match for his on-point bowling action to stun CSK batters. Apart from Curran, no other player from the team could put up a respectable show. CSK already kicked off their way with a terrible start as they lost their five wickets within the Powerplay. Boult victimized batsmen in front with his dangerous pace attack as he conceded just 18 runs to pick four wickets.
While chasing a super easy target, the splendid opening stand of Quinton de Kock (46* off 37) and Ishan Kishan (68* off 37) was enough to get the team over the line. Kishan walked up the field with so much courage and proved it to be a correct decision in terms of Mumbai’s opening stand.
Well it does hurt. What you need to see is what is going wrong, this year hasn’t been our year. In only one or two games this year we have batted and bowled well together. Whether you lose by ten wickets or eight wickets it hardly matters. All the players are hurting, but they are trying their best. It doesn’t always go your way.
Hopefully in the next three games we’ll try to put our last stand. I felt the second game was all about the bowling, our batting wasn’t turning up. Rayudu got injured and the rest of the batsmen weren’t turning up and we just kept putting pressure on the batting order. Whenever we did not get off to a good start it kept getting difficult for the middle order.
In cricket when you are going through a tough phase, you need a bit of luck to go your way. But in this tournament it hasn’t really gone our way. We haven’t really won the toss, when we are batting second there hasn’t been a lot of dew and when we are batting first all of a sudden there is a lot of dew on the field. So it hasn’t gone our way and those are the things you study.
Whenever you aren’t doing well there can be a hundred reasons. One of the main things you ask yourself is whether you are playing to your potential. When you put out a playing eleven and judge whether they have done well to justify their stats on paper on the field, I feel this year we have not done that.
Cumulatively when three or four of your batsmen aren’t doing well it becomes difficult. I feel it is part and parcel, you think more about the process. Even when you are hurting you put a smile on your face so that the management doesn’t look like they are in panic. That is what the youngsters want and I feel the boys have done that. We have kept the dressing room like that and hopefully we can turn it around in the next three games at least for pride. We need to have a clear picture for the next year.
The kind of auction, where the venues will be, and you want to give the boys a chance to perform and show their talent. We have to make the most of the next three games and it is good preparation for the next year. Identify the batsmen, who will bowl at the death and hopefully the players will soak up the pressure. Captain can’t run away, so I’ll be playing in all the games.
