Last four overs cost us, we didn't stick to our plans against Stoinis: MI's Shane Bond
May 17, 2023
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 17 : Mumbai Indians bowling coach, Shane Bond was disappointed after his team's five-run loss against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match and said that they didn't stick to the plans against Marcus Stoinis.
Lucknow Super Giants made it two wins in a row and moved to the third position in the table as they beat Mumbai Indians in a thrilling Match.
"Just two periods in the game for us where with the ball, in particular, the last four overs were poor. And a little period in the middle of our batting where I think, two of our most important batters fell in succession. Those two little periods of cricket combined to lose us the game by a handful of runs," Bond was quoted as saying by Mumbai Indians (MI)
Asked if the decision to chase was the right call to take, especially on a pitch like the Ekana, which tends to slow down as matches progress, Bond noted, "If you look at the strength of our team, it's our batting. We have a long batting order and we've chased brilliantly throughout the tournament. LSG have struggled on this wicket as well."
"I think both teams were quite unsure about what exactly the wicket was going to do and how it was going to play. In the end, the last four overs cost us and we still ended up only five runs short. So, the wicket played out quite well right till the end."
MI made a great start to the match, reducing LSG to 35/3. However, Marcus Stoinis' brilliant unbeaten 89 off just 47 deliveries helped the home team reach 177/3, which eventually proved to be a winning total.
"For me, the most frustrating thing is not sticking to the plans that we talked about. We were really clear about the things we wanted to do on this wicket. And for the players like Marcus Stoinis at the back end, we just couldn't bowl where we wanted to bowl consistently enough. Today, Stoinis was looking to hit the ball straight down the ground and we knew that's what he was trying to do. We just dished up balls for him to do it and in the end, his innings was the difference between the two teams," he added.
"For 15 overs tonight, we were excellent, we delivered exactly what we wanted to. One player put us under pressure, like Rashid Khan did the other night, and we made the same mistakes. It didn't cost us in the last game, but it certainly cost us today," he added.
