Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond lauded Mohammed Siraj and said the opening burst ping the visitors on the back foot and they could never recover from it. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians by eight wickets to start the season with a win.
“First three over from Siraj, he didn’t gave away any width. He used his bouncers beautifully. He gave us nothing to hit, forced us to play some shots and got wickets from it. We were 29 for 1 in the powerplay on a good wicket, small ground. We have a long batting order, we tried to up the ante and got to 170. That opening spell was brilliant. He was too good for us today,” Bond told reporters after the match.
Tilak Varma’s magnificent 84 not out off 46 balls helped Mumbai post 171 for 7, which can be counted as an achievement from where they were at the powerplay.
“I think 170 on a really small ground was not a good total. I think 190 could have been a par total,” said Bond
Chaing the target, Faf Du Plessis (73) and Virat Kohli (82) put on 148 runs in 14.5 overs fot the opening wicket.
Bond said their bowlers were also below par as they failed to apply any pressure on the RCB opening pair.
“We didn’t bowl well as well. We knew how important the opening partnership is going to be. We couldn’t break it and failed to apply pressure even.
“Faf and Virat played. I would have loved to see our bowlers bowl with a bit of control but we were outplayed in all the three departments,” he said.
Bond lauded RCB captain Du Plessis, who played the role of aggressor, while Kohli, despite hitting some eye-catching shots, was playing second fiddle.
“We gave away too much width and got hit on either side of the wicket. We couldn’t create any pressure. We never really strung two-overs together where we felt like the game was squeezing.
“Faf brought the power, we had Virat under control for some time, he was 31 off 25, but once he got in he took it up as well and we were staring down the barrel, and the game went away from us,” he said.
The Mumbai Indians bowling coach had high praise for Tilak Varma and also admitted that it is frustrating not to start the season with a win.
“Tilak played brilliantly, but he didn’t get much help,” he said.
“This is my ninth season here and we have never won an opening game. It’s kind of frustrating to be honest. It’s a tough way to start,” he added.
RCB spinner Karn Sharma, who ended with impressive figures of 2/32, said it was Siraj’s spell that set the tone for his team.
“Our medium pacers bowled exceptionally well in the powerplay, which gave us momentum and the platform. There was a bit of grip initially, but as soon as the game progressed, it became easier to bat,” he said.
Sharma also acknowledged that Siraj was trying to get Varma out, and in an attempt, he ended up conceding four successive wide balls.
“He was trying to get him out,” he said.
RCB will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday, while Mumbai Indians will lock horns against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
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