Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene feels there is no need to panic over the lean patches for their openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, saying the two batters need to be backed even as the 5-time champions have set an unwanted Indian Premier League record for the most defeats in their first 7 matches.
Mumbai Indians slipped to their 7th successive defeat in IPL 2022, courtesy of a disciplined bowling effort from Chennai Super Kings and a finishing masterclass from MS Dhoni at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
Mumbai got off to the worst possible start in their much-anticipated clash against Chennai as left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary got Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan for ducks as early as the first over. Mukesh got the skipper via a soft dismissal as Rohit chipped one straight to the mid-on and fell for a 2-ball duck. On the other hand, Ishan played down the wrong line to a full outswinger and saw his off-stump uprooted.
“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,” Jayawardene told the press after MI’s defeat to CSK.
“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.
