Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher rued his team’s bowling in the last five overs which allowed Punjab Kings to smash a whopping 96 runs and score a match-winning 214/8 in a high-scoring IPL 2023 match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Though Mumbai had fifties from Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav apart from a fine 44 by captain Rohit Sharma, they fell short by 13 runs as Punjab took their points in the ten-team table to eight.
“We were in control until the 15th over and then they got 96 runs in the last five (overs). That is some hitting. We got it wrong, and it is frustrating because we dominated and when we did lose, we lost it incredibly big. We can put a finger on why we lost.”
“We batted well but they (Punjab Kings) did get too many runs, which is disappointing because we controlled half per cent of the game. We let it (the match) slip towards the end of our bowling (innings),” said Boucher in the post-match press conference.
Coming into IPL 2023, Suryakumar had endured an indifferent run of form. But everything changed on Saturday when we walked out to bat and Mumbai were needing 131 off 63 balls. Suryakumar put out a show of his innovative shots coupled with superb wristwork while making a whirlwind 26-ball 57 and keeping Mumbai in pursuit of 215, with Green chipping in with a 43-ball 67.
“Form is a funny thing. It’s always nice for Surya to get some runs, especially the way that he does, it looks pretty spectacular. Sometimes you judge it by the numbers. He’s been hitting the ball really well in the nets.”
“It was just a matter of time before he translated that into runs. So grateful for having him in some good form, hitting the ball so sweet and playing so devastating just like he did tonight. It bodes well for the future for us going forward,” added Boucher.
Mumbai’s next game in IPL 2023 will be against defending champions Gujarat Titans on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
