Mumbai Indians spent a huge sum of money – INR 8 Crore to include Jofra Archer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction. Had he been a part of the team this year, the team could have done wonders in the season. But unfortunately, the English pace will be available from next season and till then, the five-time champion is left with no option but to hit and try to find the much-needed balance in his bowling department.
The bowlers of MI are finding it difficult to put up an impressive performance in the current tournament. The biggest blow was Daniel Sams’ over against Kolkata Knight Riders in which Pat Cummins scored 35 runs to win the game with 24 balls to spare.
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Expressing concern over MI’s struggling bowling attack, former India opener Virender Sehwag said that MI are thin on quality bowling options and hence, they need to back their resources.
“They can play [Riley] Meredith, he has potential. Even Mills has potential but it’s important to see how long you can last when you smash a player. If you can give 5-6 games to a batsman, you should also give a chance to the bowler to come back. You can split teams and play a bowler only against certain teams,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
The former India opener further said that Mumbai Indians should rely on their experienced players, citing the example of Chennai Super Kings who performed brilliantly against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday night.
“Generally, in pressure situations, experience counts and that’s exactly what Chennai’s ‘Daddy Army’ did in their title-winning season,” Sehwag said.
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MI’s bowling attack was once again dominated by the opposition on Wednesday as the Punjab Kings batsmen in Pune. Fifties from Shikhar Dhawan (70 off 50) and Mayank Agarwal (52 off 32) helped Punjab Kings post 198/5.
Apart from scintillating hitting from Shikhar and Mayank at the top, Jitesh Sharma (30 off 15) and Shah Rukh Khan (15 off 6) carried Punjab’s innings further down the order after being invited to bat first.
Basil Thampi (2/47), Jasprit Bumrah (1/28), Murugan Ashwin (1/34), and Jaydev Unadkat (1/44) were the wicket-takers for Mumbai Indians.
(with agency input)
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