Ashwin returned with the figures of 2/14 against Delhi Capitals.
Mumbai Indians (MI) tweaker Murugan Ashwin believes that spinners “can do a lot” on Mumbai pitches. He also talked about his side’s loss against Delhi Capitals, saying that as a bowling unit they need to address a few things.
Murugan Ashwin had a great outing in his first match of the IPL 2022. In a game, where every other MI bowler was taken for runs, the leg-spinner troubled the Delhi batters and returned with exceptional figures of 2/14.
Defending the target of 178 runs, Ashwin came into the attack in the fourth over and removed Tim Seifert, who was going great guns, along with Mandeep Singh for a duck. His two wickets in one over triggered DC’s batting collapse and they were reduced to 104/6.
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However, a superlative batting effort by Lalit Yadav (48*) and Akshar Patel (38*), who stitched a 79-run partnership, helped the Rishabh Pant-led side chase the target with 10 balls to spare.
Addressing the post-match press conference, Murugan Ashwin said that spinners can do a lot on Mumbai wickets. He cited the examples of himself and Kuldeep Yadav, who registered 3/18, and explained that they bowled good lines and forced batters to do something different.
"Both me and Kuldeep had a good game, wrist spinners, with our variations, we can do a lot off the wicket. Both of us hit the right lengths, bowled the right speeds, it's a good wicket to bat and the lines were important, we had to be precise to put the batters on the backfoot and force them to do something," Murugan Ashwin said.
Reflecting on the loss against DC, Ashwin said that his side need to address a few things in the bowling department. Calling MI’s bowlers experienced, he said they need to work on finishing off the games with the ball.
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"As a bowling unit, we were looking very good out there. We need to address a few things like closing out the overs. We gave away a few more boundary balls than we'd have liked but we will regroup and come back stronger. I don't think we succumbed to pressure, we have experienced bowlers, it's just about finishing off games. We will come back," he said
Ashwin also lauded Ishan Kishan for his knock. He called it a responsible innings and said that he’s happy for keeper-batter.
"Ishan was very good, he took it till the end, that was a good, responsible innings from him. He was batting well in the nets and practice games, so I'm happy for him," he said.
Mumbai Indians will next play Rajasthan Royals in their second match of IPL 2022. The game will take place on Saturday (2nd April) at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
(ANI inputs)