Shane Bond, the bowling coach for Mumbai Indians (MI), expressed his displeasure with his team’s bowling performance against Gujarat Titans, claiming that the bowlers gave too many freebies to David Miller and Abhinav Manohar, who stole the game from MI.
The Titans defeated MI by a score of 55 runs on Tuesday night, moving them up to second place in the standings. This victory was the result of an outstanding batting performance, which was followed by a polished performance with the ball.
After Shubman Gill’s half-century (56 off 34), bowling first, MI performed pretty well to at one time reduce Gujarat to 101/4. However, the Titans were able to rally thanks to a late attack by Manohar (42 off 21) and Miller (46 off 22), who combined for 71 runs. Then, as GT recorded 207/6, Rahul Tewatia put the finishing touches on the batting with his unbeaten 20 off 5.
Then, when Titans held Mumbai Indians to 152/9 and completed a convincing win, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (2-27) and Noor Ahmad (3-37) shone with the ball.
At the post-game press conference, Bond attributed MI’s defeat on their poor implementation of the game plan.
“It includes a number of factors. We’re not taking the necessary action. We have rather straightforward plans. Observe how we bowled there. We were struck and quickly made some adjustments. When we are in a tough run pursuit and are on the back foot, it is disheartening when we are unable to identify plans.
“Like in the previous game, I believe the score was 100/4, and after that we simply gave out free stuff. As soon as we allowed guys to score runs, (David) Miller and (Abhinav) Manohar grabbed control of the game. And from our perspective, it is the frustrating thing. We just need to make better decisions and execute them. We had a difficult day, to put it briefly,” Bond remarked.
Bond praised the Titans’ bowlers even more and described how they took use of their chances on the challenging surface, particularly the seamers of GT who had the ball in hand during the powerplay.
“The only strategy while pursuing 208 is to keep moving forward. As the ball swung differently, we (MI) attempted to weather the storm. Look at the manner Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya bowled; they didn’t give us free balls to smash. We had to make an effort to create something. Because they bowled on a wicket and did the same to RR, the score at the conclusion of the powerplay accurately represented their bowling strategy.
“The opening six overs were challenging for both sides as the dew factor made it harder for the bowling team to bowl. Our run rate has taken another significant knock tonight, so we were attempting to stem the damage,” he added.
Despite MI suffering a severe defeat, Arjun Tendulkar’s performance was a plus. The left arm bowler rebounded brilliantly after a poor performance against Punjab Kings in the previous game, giving up only five runs in his two overs of bowling and taking the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha early in the powerplay.
“After what occurred in the last game, he certainly fared well tonight. He accomplished all that was required of him today, but we will endeavour to quicken his speed.
It’s never simple to recover from a terrible day. Throughout the most recent games, a handful of our bowlers experienced awful days. And that’s the problem with T20 cricket—you have to have a tough exterior, a short memory, and the willingness to speak your mind. To make the playoffs at the conclusion of the competition, we must carry out all of our plans. We just need to improve our performance, ” Bond added.
When the bowling coach was questioned over the possibility of changing the composition of the squad and starting XI. We haven’t had time to talk about team changes or plans, he retorted. When you lose, your first instinct is to think about how well your team is balanced. I believe that our lineup has performed well in the competition.
Who bowlers and how they bowl for our bowling combination is up for debate, which is understandable given that we haven’t performed up to par. Before the next game, we have a few days and several practise sessions to put in. The head coach and captain will ultimately have such discussions about who deserves a spot on the squad, I’m sure of it.
At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 30, MI will meet Rajasthan Royals (RR), who are presently in seventh place in the rankings.
