Mumbai, May 7 (IANS) Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene defended the team’s decision to give the final over to Deepak Chahar, insisting the three-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium past midnight on Tuesday came down to execution, not strategy.
In a rain-hit, high-pressure clash on Tuesday, Gujarat Titans pulled off a stunning last-ball win against Mumbai Indians, chasing 15 runs in the final over of a DLS-revised 19-over innings. While many questioned why captain Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl the decisive last over, Jayawardene backed the pre-planned call to go with Chahar.
“Deepak did that job for us when Booms [Jasprit Bumrah] was not there [early in the season],” Jayawardene said after MI’s six-match winning streak was snapped. “He was good, our main bowler. It’s easier to ask now why Hardik didn’t bowl. But had Hardik gone for three sixes, the same question would’ve been asked about Deepak. I don’t like to go there.”
The Titans took 11 off the first three balls, including a no-ball and a six. With that, the match swung Gujarat’s way, and with Chahar getting Gerald Coetzee out taking the game down to the wire before missing a runout chase as Arshad Khan scampered for a single, Mumbai had let the match slip after being in control for most of the second innings.
Jayawardene stressed that the decision wasn’t the problem, “it was the execution.” He pointed out how the match turned despite MI’s bowlers setting things up perfectly. Jasprit Bumrah, in particular, was exceptional, delivering a 15th over that cost just six runs and picked up a wicket, followed by a 17th that gave away just seven and accounted for Shahrukh Khan.
The strategy saw both Bumrah and Trent Boult finish their spells early in the hunt for wickets, leaving Chahar and Hardik with the task of closing out. Spinners Will Jacks and Karn Sharma, who together bowled just three overs, were not considered for the final over, likely due to the conditions and match-up risks.
Meanwhile, young Ashwani stepped in admirably as a concussion substitute for Corbin Bosch, picking up two wickets and applying brakes during Gujarat’s middle-order charge. His performance was one of the few positives on a night that otherwise ended in disappointment for MI.
“This game was in our control,” Jayawardene admitted. “We made some good calls with the ball, but under pressure, a couple of poor executions cost us. It wasn’t about who bowled. We just didn’t finish the job.”
–IANS
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