'We gave a lot of easy boundaries away' - Mahela Jayawardene reflects on MI's dramatic loss against DC

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted that the team is a “bit disappointed” after conceding the opening game to Delhi Capitals to kickstart another IPL season with a loss. Renowned for being slow starters, Mumbai’s four-wicket loss on March 27 was the 1oth consecutive instance of them losing their opening game of the season, with that streak running since 2013.

Mumbai notched up 177/5 on the back of Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 48-ball 81 before the bowlers pushed the Capitals in a spot of bother. However, a dramatic lower-order partnership between Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav, who mustered a match-winning 75-run alliance in merely 30 balls to mark their team’s recovery after they were 72/5 at one stage in a 178-run chase, turned things around.

Jayawardene pointed out that the team had its moments in the game but the lack of consistency in the bowling and giving the opposition easy opportunities to score runs hurt them eventually as the Capitals clinched the encounter with 10 balls to spare.

Bowling-wise, we executed well but lacked consistency: Mahela Jayawardene

“It was a tough match. I think the disappointment for us is, we did a lot of good things, there are a lot of positives – [we] batted well, we got the runs on the board, [we were] probably 10-15 runs short, but it was the first game, [there were] a bit of nerves,” Jayawardene told MI TV.

He credited the Capitals’ duo for their heroic effort as that changed the game on its head: “Especially after being five down for about 90 runs, Axar and Lalit batted extremely well, sensible cricket.”

The 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 has his say 🗣️

📽️ @MahelaJay talks us through yesterday’s match moments, areas of improvement and much more! #OneFamily #DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians #DCvMI MI TV pic.twitter.com/iLh0tSYQ7N

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 28, 2022

He further noted how the lack of bowling discipline meant Mumbai lost their way despite being well in control for a good duration in the game.

“Bowling-wise, we executed well but the consistency was not there. We gave a lot of easy boundaries away. Especially, last-ball boundaries, we gave them in at least nine or ten overs. I think [there are] a lot of areas for us to improve, discuss going forward. Overall, it was a good outing but the entire team is a bit disappointed,” he added.

Mumbai will next play Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Sports Academy on April 2, whereas Delhi will be up against Gujarat Titans on the same day at MCA, Pune.