Mumbai Indians batsman Saurabh Tiwary feels that his side have got the momentum going ahead of the IPl play-offs as they have topped the league table and also tested their bench strength with success.
Playing his first match of the season, Saurabh Tiwary, who opened the innings in place of Parthiv Patel, sparkled with a 43-ball 52, while Ambati Rayudu was their top-scorer with a 37-ball 63 as Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by nine runs. "It's a good thing that our bench was tested. We will have our best XI for the play-off. The momentum is with us, and it's a big advantage that we will have the play-off (Qualifier 1) at home," he said.
By virtue of being the table toppers, Mumbai will have the cushion of featuring in the Qualifier 1 between the top- two sides that will give both the teams two shots at making the Final.
"There's very little margin of error in play-offs. But the good thing about us is, if we have someone injured, we would not have someone to play his first match. It becomes difficult especially in a stage like play-off where there's very little room for error," he said.
Captain Rohit Sharma opted to rest six of his side's regulars — Patel, Nitish Rana, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan – but it did not affect their performance as they finished with 20 points.
"This was like a second string Mumbai Indians side. We have a very good bench strength. The credit goes to our preparation in the build-up to the season," said the Jharkhand player.