Mumbai Indians on Sunday endured their eighth consecutive defeat of the IPL 2022 season after KL Rahul's unbeaten 103 off 62 balls flattened the five-time champions at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing 169 for the win in front of a buzzing crowd, Mumbai managed to score just 132 with five players dismissed for single-digit scores. Skipper Rohit Sharma got off to a good start but perished on 39 while Kieron Pollard was far from his attacking self to hit just 19. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)
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The most successful IPL franchise is witnessing its worst-ever run in the tournament's history and many have put the blame on a lacklustre batting display. Mumbai had bought back Ishan Kishan for ₹15.25 crore at the auction earlier this year but the youngster has failed to justify his hefty price tag. He started with consecutive fifties but Ishan's performances have slumped since then.
The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter has managed to gather 199 runs from eight games at a below-par strike rate of 108.15. Former Mumbai Indians player Parthiv Patel has underlined Ishan's "mental block", saying the opener has to stick to his aggressive approach in the T20 format.
"He wasn't even trying to hit any shots during his stay. I feel mental block is the only reason behind it. If survival is the only thing going on in a batter's mind, he can't play in the T20 format. You have to be aggressive with your shots in this format. Ishan's approach isn't helping him go past the 100 strike rate. He has to play some shots to get going," Parthiv told Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}"He wasn't even trying to hit any shots during his stay. I feel mental block is the only reason behind it. If survival is the only thing going on in a batter's mind, he can't play in the T20 format. You have to be aggressive with your shots in this format. Ishan's approach isn't helping him go past the 100 strike rate. He has to play some shots to get going," Parthiv told Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}"You don't have the option of taking too many singles in the powerplay. You can't have that batting approach in the first six overs in T20 cricket. Even if he gets an edge while attempting a shot, the ball can go towards the boundary. I think the mental block is the only reason behind it.
"There is no technical fault as he's been batting the same way and scoring runs for many years. It's just about the batting approach," he further added.
With eight defeats so far, winless Mumbai Indians' IPL campaign is all but over this season. They are now the only franchise to suffer eight straight defeats in the history of the tournament.