Mumbai Indians ended a 13-season jinx by winning their first opening TATA IPL match with a clinical six-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar experts Anil Kumble and Kevin Pietersen, along with MI Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene, weighed in on Rohit Sharma’s blitzkrieg batting, MI’s thunderous chase, and KKR’s shortcomings.
Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar expert Anil Kumble spoke about Rohit Sharma’s innings and his impact on the game:
“Rohit Sharma seems to have arrived in his 2.0 avatar, and his innings showed he is ready to dominate again. The way he hit the ball all around the ground reminded me of his prime. It is not easy to hit sixes against bowlers like Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine and Blessing Muzarabani, but he made it look easy. He has worked a lot on his fitness, and when you come back after a short break, it takes five to seven days to get your timing back and find your rhythm. This was a fantastic innings, very similar to what we have seen at Wankhede where he takes on the bowlers from the first ball. The six-hitting looked easy, and even though the boundaries were small, those shots were going into the stands. This knock shows that Rohit means business and this version of him will worry all IPL teams.”
On why KKR’s overdependence on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy is proving to be costly:
“KKR are relying too much on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, and Narine did not even complete his quota of four overs, which was surprising. The disappointing part was that Ajinkya Rahane did not bring him on in the Powerplay when Rohit and Rickelton were attacking. That is when you need your best bowler to get a breakthrough. By the time Narine came on, the damage was already done. It is not easy to control the run-rate at Wankhede against such a strong side, so you need wickets to build pressure. Narine and Varun were the bowlers who could have challenged MI, but they did not bowl enough together. That is where KKR missed their chances to get back into the game. They need to use their resources better. Their fast-bowling unit looks inexperienced, but when you have two world class spinners, you need to use them well.”
Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, Mumbai Indians Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene spoke about the team’s performance and the end of their opening-match losing streak:
“Not winning the first match of a new IPL season after 2012 was something that we always talk about in the dressing room. We got close to winning in each of the opening matches in the last 13 seasons but we never managed to successfully get over the line. I think this win over KKR was a great execution. I got a bit nervous when KKR got to a score of 220, but the wicket was pretty decent to bat on and Rohit-Rickelton’s fearless batting ensured that we didn’t suffer any hiccups. I’m very happy with the win and delighted to break the streak of losing our first match in a new IPL season.”
Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar expert Kevin Pietersen explained how MI can continue with their winning momentum:
“MI will certainly be very happy with this win against KKR and they will be looking to carry forward this momentum into the remaining matches of this season. It was a solid performance by them, but their bowlers struggled to restrict the run flow of the KKR batters and that is something that they will need to work on because KKR scored 220 runs. While MI’s batters went hard with their shots, that will not happen every time. Other teams are watching and they will study each and every aspect of the MI squad. So, Mumbai Indians will have to come up with different plans and make sure that they do not get caught off guard. The good thing is that they have some very good depth in their squad. And if you look at that batting line-up, it is very strong. They have players who are match-winners and it feels like they have a World XI. This line-up can do a lot of damage but they will have to be ready with different plans and play smart cricket if they want to lift the trophy for the sixth time.”
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