Mumbai, Apr 07, 2023, IANS
Mumbai, April 7 (IANS): Mumbai Indians would have hoped to have started their campaign in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a better note than the massive eight-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an away match.
As they get ready to play their first match of the season at their home venue, the iconic Wankhede Stadium, against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will be hoping that the return to their home venue will bring an upswing in their fortunes. MI will be hoping to gain their first points in IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings.
Their performance in the first match showed that many of the areas of concern remain for the five-time IPL winners.
Asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians' batting failed to click as they could manage only 171/7 in 20 overs. RCB overhauled the score easily with Virat Kohli hammering an unbeaten 83 off 49 balls and RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis smacking a 43-ball 79 to score 172/2 in just 16.2 overs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The defeat may have reminded many Mumbai Indians fans of their horrendous start in IPL 2022 when they lost their first eight matches. They finished at the bottom of the table with four wins in 14 matches and struggled till the end of the tournament.
The Mumbai Indians' top order comprising skipper Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Gameron Green fell cheaply and though Suryakumar Yadav did get a start, he failed to convert it into a big score and was out for 15.
Tilak Varma blasted a 46-ball 84 to help them reach a decent total though it did not prove enough to trouble RCB.
Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Polland admitted that things did not work out for them in their first match but said it was not about key Indian batters like Rohit, Ishan and Surya failing to fire.
"I believe all batters have to fire. I don't think we should single out any one individual. Cricket is played with eleven players and again the tournament has just started. So everyone is looking to start the tournament. Yes, we didn't get off to a great start as a batting unit but in the end, I still thought that we manage a decent total at the end in Bangalore So let's see what happens now since we are back home at the Wankhede," Pollard said in the pre-match press conference here on Friday.
Mumbai will be hoping to see their batters, especially skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav come good against M.S Dhoni's CSK.
On his part, Mumbai India's batting coach Kieron Pollard said they were not concerned about Suryakumar Yadav's batting form. Having bad days is part and parcel of the game, every player has gone through it, he said and hoped that the Mumbai batter will score a big one soon.
Though the focus has been on Mumbai's batting failure in the opening match against RCB, their bowler did not have a better day as RCB won by eight wickets.
The bowling unit comprising, Jason Behrendorff, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla and Cameron Green could not dislodge Virat Kohli as he along with Faf Du Plessis put on 148 runs for the first wicket.
The CSK think tank might have seen that clash between Mumbai Indians and RCB quite keenly and would be hoping to exploit the chinks in the hosts' armour at the Wankhede on Saturday.
Dhoni's side has had mixed results so far in IPL 2023, coming back to beat Lucknow Super Giants at Lucknow after suffering a comprehensive defeat on the opening night against Gujarat Titans on March 31 in Ahmedabad.
Things worked looked better for them against LSG as they posted a stiff target of 217/7 with openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway putting up a 110-run partnership. Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni too coming good. Moeen Ali then picked up 4/26 as LSG were restricted to 205/7 in 20 overs, thus losing winning the match by 12 runs.
With two of the most successful teams in IPL history (MI have won five titles and CSK four), on Saturday, fans will be in for a superb treat if Mumbai batters manage to click.