Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardena on Sunday (September 19) disclosed that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was kept out of the first game of the IPL 2021 second phase against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a precautionary measure due to a little niggle.
"Hardik was training, had a little niggle, so again precaution, we thought, lets just give him extra days to see how things are, but nothing serious," Jayawardena said during a virtual press conference.
MI’s regular skipper Rohit Sharma didn’t feature in the playing XI as well but Jayawardena said he should be available for the next match.
"Rohit was batting and doing his running as well, but after coming back from the UK, we felt that, he probably needed an extra few days, so should be fine to play the next game."
Kieron Pollard led Mumbai in the absence of Rohit and the defending champions suffered a comprehensive 20-run defeat at the hands of CSK in Dubai.
Asked to bowl first, MI reduced CSK to 24/4 in the powerplay. But Chennai still ended up with a competitive total of 156/6 on the board thanks to opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 58-ball 88* and Dwayne Bravo’s blazing 23* off 8 balls.
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In reply, MI managed 136/8 in 20 overs. It was a disappointing batting performance as none of them except for Saurabh Tiwary (50* off 40 balls) managed to touch the 20-run mark.
"We probably gave couple of soft dismissals. It just needed someone to take a bit more responsibility and bat through the innings, which we did not do and that was a difference with Ruturaj (Gaikwad) doing that for CSK," Jayawardena said.
"So, even though they (CSK) lost wickets, there was a set batsman, who went till the end. So, I think we''re disappointed, the way we handled the situation, the game awareness and the approach."
Chasing the target, MI slipped to 37/3 in the 6th over before further slumping to 58/4 in the 10th over.
"...probably needed a bit more application of taking that responsibility and giving yourself a bit of time because we felt that the second half of each innings was much easier to bat," Jayawardena said.
"So, I put it down to game awareness and taking that kind of onuses, but not too concerned, because the guys (have) been hitting the ball pretty well, it is just the application out there in the middle, that is something we need to work on."
"We knew we need to be sharper, especially against the experienced Chennai team. But I think we probably competed that first 10 overs and probably another five overs in between in a 40-over game.
"So, I think when you're playing an opposition like Chennai, if you're not in the competition for that many overs, it's always going to be tough," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
