IPL 2018 | We are very disappointed in the way we are going, says Shane Bond

IPL 2018 | We are very disappointed in the way we are going, says Shane Bond

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Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach, Shane Bond revealed that players are disappointed with their below par performances. On Tuesday, MI couldn’t chase a manageable target of 168 against RCB, which now leaves them in the spot where they have to win all their matches to qualify for knockouts.

Mumbai Indians are once again in a scenario where they have to win all their remaining six matches to keep their contention for a place in the playoffs. Given that they have performed this herculean task before, it isn’t something new for them. 

Suffering their sixth defeat of the season in eight matches they have played so far, Mumbai Indians have been nothing but a mediocre team. Their performance has been way below par from the level of defending champions. MI’s bowling coach, Shane Bond, revealed that having lost six games, mood in the Mumbai camp has been disappointing. 

“Whenever you lose any game in this tournament there’s disappointment. We have lost six now, so we are very disappointed in the way we are going,” said Shane Bond in the post-match interview. 

RCB posted a total of 168 against the defending champions on Tuesday, which seemed to be a below par score, given the small boundaries of the Chinnaswamy Stadium. So this loss has to be attributed to the batsmen for their inability to chase such a paltry target, however, Shane Bond thought that the bowlers could have done better. 

JP Duminy conceded 22 runs in the fourth over of the match, Hardik Pandya got hit for 20 runs in the tenth over, while Mitchell McClenaghan was smashed for 24 runs in the final over of the innings. These three overs accounted for 66 runs, which changed the course of the match and proved the common consensus that T20 cricket is all about few good overs. 

“We bowled 17 overs really well and we bowled three overs that were terrible, which cost us 60-65 runs. When you do that on a wicket that is difficult, it’s always going to make it tough,” pointed out Bond. “We saw in the previous games we bowled 17 good overs and had three bad overs, that has cost us games. You expect to go for runs with the quality of players and the size of grounds, but overs that go for 20-plus, they cost us games and it was the same today.”

Bond emphasized the need for bowling slower balls in the right areas on the slow track on Bangalore. He pointed out that they were punished whenever they missed their target. 

“It was a wicket where if you rolled your fingers and executed your slower balls, it was difficult to score. And we knew that the variation was going to be the change of pace up rather than down, so we were going to bowl more cutters. You still have to put the ball in the zones that are tough to hit, so if you’re going to bowl the slower one, it’s got to be dead straight or it’s got to be really wide. I think when we did that we were good and when we missed we got hit, which is what happens in this game,” said Bond. 

Mustafizur Rahman could have been a potent weapon on the slow wicket and in experts’ opinions would have been an automatic inclusion in the team. However, Shane Bond defended the team selection and pointed out that the bowlers did bowl well for 17 overs and were unlucky to leak that many runs in the remaining 3 overs. He was of the opinion that Fizz’s inclusion in the side would have made no difference.   

“We picked the team that won the last game (Kieron Pollard came in for an injured Evin Lewis in the only forced change). If anything, bowling becomes easier on a track like that because conditions favour you and as I said for 17 overs we were excellent and for three we weren’t. So I don’t think (playing Mustafizur would have been a better idea),” he said. 

Rejecting the notion that Mumbai players’ shoulders would drop if they are knocked out the tournament and they won’t play their remaining matches with the same intensity, Bond explained that all the players of Mumbai have huge respect for the respect for the team and the game and nothing would change even if they are knocked out of the tournament. Reminding that Mumbai have won 6 consecutive matches before, Bond believed that the team could perform the task once again.  

“Nothing changes for us in the next games, whether we are in the tournament or out of the tournament,” the former New Zealand paceman said. “The motivation is there for the players, we are a franchise that we take a lot of pride in. The guys take a lot of pride in their performance, it’s an expectation from everyone that we turn up every day and give our best performances and the guys always do, they are always motivated.

“We have six games left that we have to win, all games, that’s what we have to do. I still believe when you look at our squad, we have key players who can win us six games in a row. We have done it in the past, I believe that we can, so we just have to take one game at a time and hopefully we can do that.”

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