James Pattinson replaced Lasith Malinga in MI squad.
James Pattinson, the Australian fast bowler was called up by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2020 start, as they lost their premier pacer Lasith Malinga, who opted out of the tournament for personal reasons.
Pattinson joined the team before the start and was picked in the playing XI against Chennai Super Kings for the first match which was played in Abu Dhabi. It was the first game for most of the cricketers, who have been cooped up in their homes in their respective countries due to Coronavirus forced lockdowns.
"These are different times and we are just really grateful to be out there playing cricket and hopefully putting out a show for people," Pattinson said in the post-match press conference.
MI suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of CSK as Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis and Sam Curran starred for the yellow army.
IPL 2020: Rohit Sharma blames batsmen after MI's 5-wicket loss to CSK in the tournament opener
CSK had won the toss and Dhoni chose to bowl first giving the possibility of dew in the second half. Pattinson said MI was also looking to bowl first as there is an 'advantage' in doing that.
"We were looking to bowl first. With the temperature being high at night time, the ground does get a bit wet (with the dew). So there is an advantage in bowling first. Both the teams were looking to bowl first," he said.
MI put up a total of 162 runs in their allotted 20 overs, with surprise pick Saurabh Tiwary top scoring with 40 odd runs. Lungi Ngidi picked three wickets. In reply, Rayudu and Du Plessis hit crucial half-centuries as CSK had lost two early wickets. In the end, CSK registered their first win over MI, after five consecutive losses in previous editions.
(ANI inputs)