Mumbai Indians (MI) coach Mark Boucher talked about skipper Rohit Sharma’s decision to give the 16th over of Punjab Kings (PBKS) innings to Arjun Tendulkar, in which the young pacer went for 31 runs in the 31st match of the IPL 2023 between the two sides on April 22 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Punjab Kings were 118/4 at the end of 15th over. But then Arjun Tendulkar bowled the 16th over in which he went for two sixes and 4 fours, conceding 31 runs in all and opening the floodgates. In the last five overs, PBKS made 96 runs in all, finishing on 214/8 in 20 overs.
In reply, Mumbai Indians fell 13 runs short despite Cameron Green (67 off 43 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (57 off 26) and skipper Rohit Sharma (44 off 27) playing some fine knocks at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh took 4/29 with the ball.
"I thought the game was in the balance. Surya's was a big wicket, a couple of centimeters higher or lower and it would probably have gone for a boundary. He held his nerve at the end, so well done to him. We batted well but they (PBKS) did get too many runs, which is disappointing because we controlled half percent of the game. We let it slip towards the end of our bowling (innings),” Boucher told the media.
"It was nice for Surya to get some runs. The way he does, it always looks spectacular. Form is a funny thing, sometimes you judge it by the numbers. He has been hitting the ball really well in the nets. It was just a matter of time before it translated into runs," he said.
Boucher said that the only reason MI lost last night was because they conceded almost 100 runs in the last five overs of the PBKS innings.
He added: "We were in control until the 15th over and then they got 96 runs in the last five (overs). That is some hitting. We got it wrong, and it is frustrating because we dominated and when we did lose, we lost it incredibly big. We can put a finger on why we lost."
Thanks to conceding 31 runs in an over, Arjun was the most expensive MI bowler, conceding 48 runs in three overs at an economy of 16.
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"I think Rohit, who is a very experienced cricketer, felt that he would bowl Arjun at the 14th-15th over. That was a better match-up at that stage in the game. Sometimes, they (decisions) go your way and sometimes they do not. Unfortunately, it did not go his way, and, in hindsight, sometimes the match-ups do not work and that is just the nature of T20 cricket," Boucher said.
“It will be tough on him (Arjun), coming in to bowl at the back end at Wankhede where the conditions were good to bat on. He, maybe, got one or two (deliveries) wrong, he probably felt under the pressure but he will live and learn from it. It is not the end of the world; it is still not the early days but mid days in the IPL and, hopefully, he will come back stronger. He has full support of the support staff and players to try and get over this as quickly as possible," Boucher added.
Jofra Archer made a comeback in this game and though he went wicketless, coach Mark Boucher was pleased to see him back in action.
"Jof bowled with some good pace, he wanted to land a couple of yorkers but the wicket was good to bat on. For his first outing (after a short layoff), we will take it. Hopefully, he will not feel any pain tomorrow," he said.
MI will next travel to Ahmedabad to face Gujarat Titans on April 25.
(PTI inputs)
