Mumbai Indians have finally found some momentum ahead of their all-important clash against Delhi Capitals at Sharjah on Saturday, second October, 2021. Their 6-wicket win against PBKS was a convincing one, and the team will look to maintain that momentum and take all possible chances to enter the playoffs.

Mumbai Indians Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene addressed the media ahead of the important game between MI and DC. He spoke of what went right in the last game, bio-bubble fatigue, the plan ahead and more.

Here are some excerpts from the press conference:

How is the mood in the dressing room right now after winning the last match?

“Yeah, I think getting a win was very important, given where the tournament situation is for us and I think we are as charged up as we were when we started the tournament. I know we didn’t play the best of cricket in the first few games and when you are playing against quality opposition you can’t make those mistakes.”

“I think everyone realises that. Even in the last game we did a lot of good things but still there is a lot of improvement to be made and hopefully we will improve on that. That’s something we will keep striving for. In this part of the tournament, we know that we have to play our best cricket to be in the tournament and to be getting into that playoff. I think everyone is focused on that matter.”

How do you motivate players like Surya and Ishan to get back among the runs?

“I think it is a part and parcel of any professional cricketer’s life, especially a batsman. If he goes by the balls, the batsman has a fraction of second to make a decision. Sometimes if you play a bad shot you get out, sometimes a good ball will get you out and sometimes unfortunate incidents will get you out.”

“The ratio of them being successful is quite low compared to a bowler who has 24 balls to redeem himself. I think we take all that into account when you are analysing your batsmen and certain situations, especially when you are in a tournament like this where it is even shorter for us in the second half.”

“We had to make a few changes just to trigger a few things, but that doesn’t mean that these players are ignored or they have been left out. So, all those conversations are happening behind the scenes. We make sure that they go through their routines, they go through their practises and keep them going and any given moment will be used against an opposition we feel they are comfortable with as well.”

“So, it is just a process, especially at MI, our core group making that kind of decision, and we will keep doing that. But that doesn’t mean that the quality of these players has been ignored or anything like that. It's just that we feel what’s best for MI in a particular game or at this moment is what matters for us and we base our decision on that and we make sure that the players are confident and kept in the same balance even though they are not on the park.”

Chris Gayle pulled out due to bio bubble fatigue. How challenging is it and how does MI's management keep players motivated?

“I totally agree with that. With the amount of international cricket and other leagues happening, a lot of the guys have been in bio-bubbles and been travelling quite a bit. We have tried to create an environment for our guys within our bio-bubble so that they have a bit more freedom in the sense that the access within the bio-bubble, the facilities that we have in Abu-Dhabi, the hotel, resort are available. Most of the families are here with them so we are trying to create that environment to make it much friendlier for them.”

“But we do understand the bio-fatigue, especially with the people travelling for a long period away from home and families. We are trying to strike that balance. We always have that conversation with the guys who feel low and all that try to help them as much as possible and make sure that everyone is focused on the job at hand.”

Spinners are doing very well, and MI has only Rahul and Krunal bowling regularly. Why isn’t the team including other spinners?

“It all depends on the conditions, the opposition and the balance of our team, what we are looking for tactically against oppositions. So yeah, we’ve got some really good spinners in our setup and if we feel at any time all those aspects are being ticked off, yes, we will look at that option.”

Are you a supporter of including spinners in the powerplay despite having good swing bowlers in the team?

“I think it all depends on match-ups, and again, opposition and conditions and all that to account for. But we’ve always utilised a mixed bag of spin and pace. Like you said, our pace attack has always given us the breakthroughs upfront and been very aggressive and nothing has changed this year and we continue to do that.”

“I think the bowling group has done really well through the season. They’ve been very, very good execution wise. They’ve pulled us off certain situations and have created opportunities. So we’ll keep doing that. I mean, in most games we’ve tactically utilised the powerplay in different ways and we keep looking to explore those opportunities.”

Totals have been lower compared to last IPL here. Are they good enough or must we look at the pitch behaviour?

“I think we just need to take into account that the surfaces we are getting this year are slightly different from what we had last year. It was so much fresher last year coming out of COVID, there was no cricket being played. So, the surfaces were better. At the same time, they’re trying to safeguard the surfaces for the World Cup as well.”

“So you see probably extra grass on the surface so it’s not playing fully because of that but it’s a challenge that all teams face in the competition. It’s probably striking a better balance between the bat and the ball as well. So you need to tactically be aware and play accordingly and do what we have to rather than worry about it.”

Could the behaviour of the surface change going forward into the World Cup?

“It all depends on the surfaces in the sense that the World Cup is still roughly about three weeks away. It’s a World Cup and a neutral tournament so they’ll try and get the best possible surfaces to play for all teams and that has been the case in neutral venues especially in World Cups. I don’t see any difference compared to this tournament in UAE in three weeks.”

The Men in Blue and Gold will play their first and only afternoon game on Saturday. Gear up for the clash of last year’s finalists, Paltan. It’s going to be a big one!