After losing the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene expressed concerns about the team’s performance in powerplays in IPL 2025. MI have lost 4 out of 5 matches so far and the team is facing challenges with both bat and ball during the crucial initial overs. It is very much clear that MI’s star batter Rohit Sharma has failed to perform so far in the tournament. In 4 matches he managed to score only 38 runs.
Powerplay struggles against RCB
In the match against RCB, MI allowed 73/1, the highest powerplay total against them by RCB, while managing only 54/2 themselves. When discussing the game, Jayawardene said, “The powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. In the last few games as well, we were leaking too many runs with the ball in the powerplay and we are not getting the starts and losing wickets [with the bat].” He pointed out the inability to react to RCB’s counterattack and the impact of a big sixth over bowled by Deepak Chahar, which affected their momentum.
Ball Handling and Strategy
Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s return, the new ball was given to Deepak Chahar. Jayawardene defended this decision, saying that Chahar’s role as a swing bowler and Bumrah’s gradual reintroduction after a break.
He shared that MI’s execution with the ball needed improvement, “I don’t think chasing was the wrong decision, where we went wrong was with our execution with the ball where we could have controlled things much better.” he said.
Batting performance and future outlook
While MI captain Hardik Pandya contributed with 42 off 15 balls, however it wasn’t enough to chase the target of 222. Jayawardene believes in there is much need for greater consistency and leverage on their talent: “With the talent that we have we know we are always in the game. We know that we just need to be patient and most of the guys are matchwinners. It’s just that we’re not getting that tempo going consistently.” He shared working on partnerships and pacing their innings better.
Emphasis on ruthlessness
Mahela Jayawardene reiterated the need for MI to be more “ruthless” in their approach, speaking on previous matches and stressing the importance of executing their skills effectively: “I still back the senior pros and all the guys I put out there. I think they have the skill, it’s just that we need to be a bit more ruthless.” he said. He backs the players and expect them to rise in future matches.
