IPL 2022: Coach Jayawardene still hopeful of turnaround for MI after 7th consecutive loss
Apr 22, 2022
Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 22 : Despite Mumbai Indians' seventh consecutive loss in the ongoing IPL, head coach Mahela Jayawardene is hopeful that his side can still turn things around.
Dhoni turned back the clock on Thursday scoring an unbeaten 28 from 13 balls to hand Chennai Super Kings their second win of IPL 2022 as they defeated Mumbai Indians by three wickets here at the Dr DY Patil Stadium. The batter scored 17 runs in the last over, which was being bowled by Jaydev Undakat.
"You need to back the ability and give them confidence. These are guys who have played a lot of IPL games, and understand what needs to be done. It will turn around. Get in every day, go through the processes and work hard," said Jayawardene in a post-match press conference on Thursday.
MI openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma both returned to the pavilion without scoring a single run against CSK.
"It's been a bit up and down, to be honest. Ishan batted really well in the first couple of games. And then a bit of a slide. Ro has been hitting the ball really well, he gets good starts. 15-20 runs, he looks good, and then he has not been able to convert," said Jayawardene.
"When that happens, when you get out early, you feel nothing is going your way. I have been a batter and that's part and parcel of the game. You know I will be concerned when they are not hitting the ball well or if they don't have the confidence but both of them have been batting well out there and in the nets," he added.
Talking about trying different combinations in the upcoming matches, the head coach praised youngster Hrithik Shokeen for his amazing spell.
"It all depends on how tactically we play against the oppositions and the conditions. We have got a young group to which we are giving a few opportunities. Shokeen was pretty good today, bowled really well," said the head coach.
"So, we are just creating those opportunities to see if something sparks for us and at that the same time we need to see the core group going in as well," he added.
Mukesh Choudhary of CSK dismissed the openers for a duck in the very first over. After this, MI fought hard with the help of Tilak Varma's 51 off 43 and managed to put up a total of 155.
The quick cameo from Pretorius(22 from 14) was very crucial in the end and the classic finisher Dhoni(28* off 13) finished the match with a boundary of the last ball.
