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Cricket Players'Big names in batting but...': Ex-MI skipper gives straight-forward verdict on Mumbai Indians' struggles in IPL 2023
The former MI skipper opened up about Mumbai's unimpressive start in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians (MI) extended their winless run in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the record-time winners were simply outplayed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the first El Clasico of the new season on Saturday. Batting first at the famous Wankhede Stadium, Rohit's Mumbai Paltan failed to register a daunting total for their arch-rivals in match No.12 of the cash-rich league.
The world-class spin-bowling duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner shared five wickets to restrict Mumbai Indians to 157/8 in the first Clasico of the new season. Jadeja (4-0-20-3) and Santner's (4-0-28-2) bowling heroics staged CSK's comeback after Mumbai reached 61 for one in the powerplay. Opener Ishan Kishan's quick-fire 32 off 21 balls was the highest score by a MI batter against CSK in the recently concluded contest at Mumbai.
Speaking to Star Sports after Chennai hammered Mumbai in the IPL Clasico, legendary Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reflected on MI's unimpressive start to the 2023 edition of the cash-rich league. "We say this team's bowling is their weakness but the batting has actually disappointed if we analyze it properly. The batters will have to score runs, then only your bowlers will come into the game. They are not playing freely. A big team is one which plays freely. It didn't seem that a five-time champion team would play this sort of cricket. They have big names in batting but they have disappointed in both the matches," Harbhajan said.
Despite making a brilliant start in the powerplay, Rohit's Mumbai struggled to post a challenging total against the Chennai Super Kings. While skipper Rohit perished for 21 off 13 balls, superstar Suryakumar Yadav was outfoxed by Dhoni, who ended up making the right DRS call in the eighth over of MI's innings. Tim David's crucial cameo of 31 off 22 balls and Hrithik Shokeen's unbeaten knock of 18 then lifted Mumbai to 157-8 in 20 overs.
"Tilak Varma was definitely the hero in the first match but once Tilak Varma got out today, it seemed no one had the awareness. Tim David was there but he only knows how to play big shots, he doesn't know how to take the game forward. The singles and doubles that Tilak took were good," added Harbhajan, who captained Mumbai Indians in 30 IPL matches. Riding on Ruturaj Gaikwad's gritty 40-run knock and Ajinkya Rahane's blistering 61 off 27 balls, MS Dhoni's CSK outclassed Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. Rohit's Mumbai Indians are placed 8th on the IPL 2023 points table. The five-time winners are yet to open their account in the IPL 2023.
