Mahela concedes MI blown away by Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal
Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted his side was blown off course by a blistering onslaught from Rajasthan Royals openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the bowlers missed their lines and lengths on a night when even Jasprit Bumrah “probably missed the length by a little bit”.
Mumbai Indians suffered a 27-run defeat in a rain-curtailed IPL clash as Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi lit up the night with a blistering display that powered Rajasthan Royals to 150 for 3 in 11 overs before their bowlers tightened the screws to restrict Mumbai Indians to 123 for 9 on Tuesday night.
This was MI’s second loss after starting the season with a win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
“We were not good enough, and that’s what we have to work on. I think we had some plans, but...we never executed those plans the way we wanted.
These guys are batting really well. We knew the danger, especially when rain curtailed (the match), and you have the license to go up front.
“We needed to make sure that first four, five overs were crucial for us. And, yeah, I think we missed our lengths, we missed our lines, and they played really, really well,” said the former Sri Lankan batter.
He added that even a bowler of Bumrah’s calibre had to struggle against the onslaught of the two RR openers, who together scored a blazing 80 runs in the first five overs, with Jaiswal making an unbeaten 77 off 32 balls and Sooryavanshi 39 off 14.
“I think we all knew his (Sooryavanshi’s) great talent from the way he went about last year. We managed to control him last season. And every match, it’s a challenge.
“Bumrah probably missed the length by a little bit, and he was ready for this. So, yeah, it’ll be fascinating to see how he evolves. But definitely, you know, he really took our bowlers down,” added Jayawardene.
