You Need To Back The Ability And Give Them Confidence: Mahela Jayawardene Confident About Mumbai Indians Turnaround In IPL 2022

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene backed Rohit Sharma & co to turn around their fortunes in the IPL 2022 despite recording seven straight losses on Thursday. Ravindra Jadeja-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pipped MI by three wickets at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

CSK pacer Mukesh Choudhary ran through MI’s top order and dismissed openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan in the first over to dent the heavy blows. Tilak Varma’s valiant unbeaten 51 and Jaydev Unadkat’s 19 runs in nine balls pushed MI to 155/7.

MS Dhoni’s vintage knock dents Mumbai Indians’ hopes to win their first match in IPL 2022

MI was in the game till the final ball of the game with the best opportunity to win their first points this season. However, CSK talisman MS Dhoni nullified the five-time IPL champions’ plans as he hit 16 runs in the final four balls and wrote another interesting chapter in his book as a finisher.

Get in every day, go through the processes and work hard: Mahela Jayawardene to the Mumbai Indians team

Jayawardene said backed his team to come back against the adversity and not lose hope. The MI head coach defended openers Rohit and Ishan for getting out for nought.

“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,” Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference. 

“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. Rohit 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.

“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. 

Mumbai Indians will play their next match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 24 at their home ground- Wankhede Stadium.

Also Read: MI vs CSK: Rohit Sharma Registers Unwanted Record As Mumbai Indians Suffer Seventh Straight Loss In IPL 2022