Surya took it away from us: RCB coach Katich
Mumbai Indians skipper Pollard too effusive in his praise for the batsman, says Surya has “burning desire to don the India blue”
ABU DHABI: Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering knock pushed them out of the contest, said Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Simon Katich as his side lost to Mumbai Indians by five wickets.
After restricting RCB to 164/6, courtesy effective death bowling led by lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai Indians rode on blistering unbeaten 79 off 43 balls by Suryakumar to overhaul the target on Wednesday.
“He (Surya) is a very good player, he has had a good tournament and he made the difference, getting that score and scoring as quickly as he did. (He) put (Yuzvedra) Chahal under pressure, with some good boundaries and sixes,” Katich said at the post match press conference.
“...there was a period there (when they) were 3-70 and we looked like we were getting on top but then Suryakumar played a magnificent innings and got the momentum back in their favour pretty quickly after they lost that third wicket and then it was difficult for us to get back into the game,” the head coach said.
Katich said they were looking around a total of 180 after a good start but the loss of four wickets in a space of 13 balls changed the complexion of their innings. “Mumbai outplayed us when it mattered the most. We did a lot of things well today. the big positive was the two youngsters at the top, (Devdutt) Padikkal and (Josh) Phillipe, got us off to a great start and one stage it looked we are going to get well on top with the bat, but young Josh got stumped, and then it slowed down after that a little bit with the wicket,” he added.
Pollard all praise
Mumbai Indians skipper Kieron Pollard was effusive in his praise for Suryakumar and said the batsman is driven by a “burning desire” to don the India blue.
“It (Yadav’s innings) was very, very valuable. We always spoke about one of the top three batters, or top four batters, bat all the way through if you are chasing, go all the way through and win the game for us.
He (Surya) has done that more often than not,” Pollard said at the post-match media conference.
“...he wants to do well and today again he showed his class on how well he can bat...and deep down inside the burning desire to don that blue, but again he continues to show consistency, which is all that he can do as an individual,” he added.
Yadav was overlooked for India’s tour of Australia despite his consistent run.
Pollard also said that it was a good bowling effort to restrict RCB to 164/6, as at one stage, the opposition looked like putting 190-200 runs on the board.
“At one point it looked like we were staring at the barrel at 190200 and I thought we came back really well and to restrict a batting line-up like RCB, with wickets in hands, and the position they were in to 165 was well done to the bowlers.
“Bumrah coming back and getting wickets, Boulty (Trent Boult) as well, Krunal Pandya bowling four economical overs, so again, was a total team effort in terms of the bowl and restricting them was very good for us,” he added.
He also conceded that getting AB de Villiers was crucial, else the momentum would have shifted in RCB’s favour.
“.once we got a wicket, our spinners will come into play, and so they did and it worked for us. A couple of overs they got away from us again but we were able to pull it back.
“Luckily, I came on at that time and got the wicket of AB with an innocuous delivery that could have gone straight for six and the momentum would have been straight to them. A bit of luck on our side, but the guys really bowled well,” said the West Indian.
POLLARD ALSO SAID THAT IT WAS A GOOD BOWLING EFFORT TO RESTRICT RCB TO 164/6, AS AT ONE STAGE, THE OPPOSITION LOOKED LIKE PUTTING 190-200 RUNS ON THE BOARD
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 164/6 in 20 overs (D Padikkal 74, J Philippe 33; J Bumrah 3/14) lost to Mumbai Indians 166/5 in 19.1 overs (S Yadav 79*; M Siraj 2/28, Y Chahal 2/37) by five wickets.