Mumbai Indians encountered the same recurring problems when they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in an IPL match on Wednesday. Skipper Hardik Pandya summed up the forgettable season for MI but putting the blame on sloppy fielding by the team this season.
Speaking specifically about the Wednesday’s match against KKR, he said on that sort of wicket, the team was 20 runs short.
“Definitely as a batting group, we were 20 (runs) short. I think we lost a lot of wickets in powerplay, but if Tilak (Varma) and I would have stayed longer, and we had stitched a couple of more partnership and got those 15-20 runs, I think we would have had a decent chance,” said Hardik after the match.
“I think throughout the season, we’ve been quite poor in fielding. I think we have dropped a lot of catches, which obviously no one wants to do it. But in that part of the game, I think there is no hiding away. I think if you get chances, if you want to win games, you need to grab all the chances, even half chances as well. But yeah, when you drop chances which can change the game, it’s always you are chasing the game,” Hardik also said.
He credited the Eden Gardens wicket that had something for the bowlers at a time when the IPL is heavily tilted towards the batters.
“To be very honest, I don’t mind playing on this sort of wickets where bowlers have something to do. I think IPL is becoming quite batting-dominated. Bowlers are feeling helpless.
“I think today’s game kind of gave bowlers something as well, which kind of makes them come and bowl some good balls, make batsmen play some good cricket and score runs. So, I kind of enjoyed it,” he said.
Meanwhile, KKR batter Rovman Powell, who scored a match-winning 40 with wickets falling around him, said he felt comfortable playing on the track which was a “typical Caribbean wicket”.
“I said it’s a typical Caribbean wicket. It might not be the wicket of the IPL where the ball is sliding onto the bat, but it’s a typical Caribbean wicket where it hold in the wicket a little bit.
“So I guess I would understand how to bat on it,” said Powell.
The West Indian said his plan was to keep targeting the shorter side of the ground.
“I think the score tells you that all you need to do is to just get a start and once you get a start, you target the short side. It’s not one of those wickets where it’s placid, where it’s sliding onto the bat.
“But having said that, it’s good to contribute to a team win,” he said.
He said the team would now focus on the last league game and play good cricket, and not worrying too much about playoff qualification.
“You know, that’s the beauty of the game. It’s important for us to just keep on focusing on the last game. Not worried about qualifying, not qualifying. It’s just for us now to play good cricket in our last game and whatever happens, happens,” he added.
