Jayawardene shares his thought on Mumbai Indians’ next game

Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene attended the pre-match press conference against table-toppers Gujarat Titans.

After a dismal start to their campaign, the team won their first match against Rajasthan Royals in the previous game. The coach gave his insights on how happy and pleased he was with his squad’s efforts.

“It was good to see that we managed to execute our skills and finish the last game off. We were able to cross the line – we have had those opportunities earlier in the season as well – and it was a positive outcome to get points on the board. Our focus has been good and looking forward to the next game, which is a tough one against an in-form team,” stated Mahela.

Jayawardene strongly stressed the fact of just winning the remaining five matches and enjoying. He says,

“We just have to win matches, play as a group. It’s been tough, we are not satisfied with our execution but everyone stuck together and worked hard. We have stayed together and believed in our abilities, so it will be the same for the rest of the season. We have to make sure we win matches and enjoy our cricket,” answered Mahela.

The coach was also impressed by the debutant Kumar Kartikeya Singh and the strong determination of the young off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen. The latter played a big part by dismissing in-form Jos Buttler.

“Hrithik went for runs but the attitude he showed to come back was great. We knew Kartikeya had the skills and he looked like a pro out there. It’s good to see these kids coming through,” he said.

Mahela spoke about out-of-form Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. How his senior players have to be together and improve the consistency of the team.

“Pollard has been honest in saying that he has not been able to finish games. There were situations where it was tough for one person to finish it off. In the previous game, David and Dan came in to finish the game. He looked good the first three-four games but did not have the support. The consistency is not there, but we have to improve that as a group,” noted Mahela.

“Ro has been good at batting for long periods, with the rest of the guys batting around him. He is disappointed that he has not been able to convert his starts but it’s about executing our game plans. It’s about getting most of your guys to play good cricket – our bowlers also have to brush up on things like not conceding too many big overs.”

The head coach gave importance to the fact that how each player will have to perform specific roles and understand each other better.

“It’s a constant process. With someone like Brevis, it is understanding the roles he can play and how he can execute them but that should not affect the batting order. We want to settle guys in different roles, which is a fine line. Understanding what’s best for us is important. It also depends on the opposition so those factors come into play when we make the team,” he concluded.

Mahela was really happy about the fact of how well they performed in the previous match, and that his side was ready to give a tough fight against the table-toppers.