Hardik needs to work harder, talent alone not enough: Mahela
The 2018 IPL is turning out to be Mumbai Indians’ worst nightmare. They have suffered four last-over defeats in the five matches they have played so far. But on Tuesday night at the Wankhede Stadium, things got more difficult. Their 31-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad while chasing 118 is the kind of performance which can break any team’s resolve.
Their coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted that abject surrender is difficult to digest. Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 87 and Jayawardene didn’t mince words describing the woeful show. “We have put ourselves in this situation, there is no one else to blame.
“Today, I am disappointed…some of the matches we lost, I thought we played good cricket, they could have gone either way, it is T20 cricket. (But) today was very disappointing. We probably played (on) the wicket thinking there are demons out there. We just had to knock it around, did not take any responsibility, so that part is quite disappointing. The dew came in as we expected after 10 overs, so no one took responsibility…that is quite sad,” said Jayawardene.
It was not a typical Wankhede wicket and batting was a struggle on the slow surface. But, the Mumbai coach said his batsmen were aware of the nature of the turf after bowling first and, with some sensible play, they should have been home. “Against the off-spinner (Mohd Nabi), we batted really well tactically, but after that what was needed was a bit more sensible batting, which we did not get.
“The tactic was not to take any unnecessary risk against Rashid Khan…just knock it around. (But) we didn’t play with our heads today.”
Underperforming players Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have come under fire after another listless show. Pollard has been a shadow of himself, failing to touch double digits on Tuesday. “Kieron is struggling a bit, but you can’t chop and change just because you don’t fire. You have to go with that structure and, yes, eventually, I will have to take some calls. I need 24 hours to think about what happened today and not be emotional,” said Jayawardene of the West Indian.
On Pandya, who managed three runs off 19 balls, Jayawardene said the all-rounder needed to work harder and keep evolving. “Every year, you can’t bat the same way. (If) people don’t evolve and improve, there is no progress. Young guys like Hardik need to work harder. Talent alone will not get you (success). They need to keep learning. With good bowlers doing various things you have to evolve, otherwise you won’t be consistent.”
MUMBAI: I am disappointed… some of the matches we lost, I thought we played good cricket, they could have gone either way, it is T20 cricket. Against offspinner (Mohd Nabi), we batted well, but after that what was needed was a bit more sensible batting, which we did not get. Kieron is struggling, but you can’t change just because you don’t fire. You have to go with that structure.. yes eventually, I will have to take some calls