MI need to keep confidence, focus, discipline: Jayawardene

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene has dismissed burnout concerns for his key Indian players, including Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, assuring that the team is focused on regaining rhythm and confidence rather than blaming T20 World Cup fatigue for its poor run.

Mumbai Indians succumbed to their fifth defeat in seven matches this IPL season, losing to Chennai Super Kings here on Thursday by 103 runs, their biggest margin of defeat in terms of runs.

MI skipper Pandya has taken a mere three wickets and scored 97 runs in six matches, while Suryakumar has managed 156 runs in seven games. Even Jasprit Bumrah (2 wickets) and Tilak Varma (181 runs) have not been able to make a strong impact.

“(In) modern-day (cricket), everyone is a professional. A lot of the guys who played the World Cup have come back after a break to play the IPL,” Jayawardene told reporters after MI’s heavy loss to CSK.

“I don’t think even the players would put up to that (fatigue), it’s about us getting the rhythm, getting that consistency - overall consistency is something we are lacking. Yes, (in) bowling, we need to improve, but at the same time, batting hasn’t been consistent as well.”

“We just need to find that space where we can compete. If we play our best cricket, we have a great chance, but the confidence, the focus, the discipline have to be there for the next seven games,” he added.       

Having poor powerplays has been one of the factors behind MI’s disappointing run so far this season. On Thursday, while CSK raced to 73 for two batting first, MI could only crawl to 29 for three after a cluster of wickets in the first three overs.

“Once you lose a match like that, it’s difficult to even analyse it. But probably we lost both the powerplays with the ball and with the bat, we just couldn’t get to the game,” the former Sri Lanka skipper said.

“We have got a little break now, it gives us some time to really sit down and think what we need to do the next seven matches, and we know exactly what we need to do, and we’ll plan and put our best foot out,” Jayawardene said.

Jayawardene also defended Pandya, saying MI’s disappointing run cannot be attributed to one individual’s performance.

“(In) the first few games with the ball, he bowled really well. That’s what I’m saying, overall, as a unit, we have had this. It’s not just individuals. I don’t want to name individuals. As a team, we haven’t been consistent,” Jayawardene said.

Jayawardene said Bumrah has bowled the first over in the last two matches as MI needed to have more control upfront.

“We needed some experience upfront to take the new ball because we were not setting a tone with the first over itself. We were going for 10, 12, 13 runs; ‘let’s grab that back’. Like I said, we’ll sit down, we’ll reflect and come back strong,” he said.

Jayawardene said New Zealand T20I skipper Mitchell Santner, who was replaced by Shardul Thakur as concussion substitute after taking a diving catch, was taken for scans.

“He hit his head first, neck, obviously the shoulder as well. He went for a scan because once he got back, he felt dizzy,” Jayawardene said.

“The ice (pack in the dugout) was there for the shoulder. But he felt that he wasn’t stable, so we took him for a scan.”

CSK spinner Akeal Hosein, who took 4/17 in their massive win, said there was no particular reason behind his hand-on-face celebration.

“Everybody seems to have their own mask. Noor (Ahmad) has a mask, a couple of footballers have their masks, so I just chose this one. Nothing too much behind it; it’s just about celebrating small victories,” he said.

Hosein praised Sanju Samson for a calculated 101 not out, which set the tone for CSK.

“At one point, if we kept losing wickets, we could have fallen short. We could have scored anyway around 160, 170. So Sanju staying there right till the end and being calculated as well...” he said.

“He knew that they only basically had five bowlers. They had to bring in someone who didn’t get into the game as early as they should, and he calculated well and took on that new bowler in the end,” Hosein said.