'I don't know what Pollard was thinking. CSK could have been 60, 70 or 80 all out': Pietersen critical of MI's captaincy
Kevin Pietersen feels Mumbai Indians missed a trick, allowing Chennai Super Kings to get to over 150 when they had them on the mat at 24/4.
Kevin Pietersen was pretty outspoken at the mid-innings interval of the Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians Match 30 of the IPL 2021, believing MI lost grip of the game when they allowed CSK to come back in the game after having them on the mat at 24/4 in the Powerplay. CSK finished their innings on 156/6 thanks to Ruturaj Gaikwad's innings of 88 not out.
The total proved to be a watch-winning one as MI finished on 136/8; thus, losing the contest by 20 runs. Pietersen was sceptical of Kieron Pollard's captaincy, pointing out areas where he felt MI should have been tactically smarter.
"Mumbai started so well. They really got themselves into the game. They knew they needed to get themselves going. They lost their captain so he was replaced. And they started so well. CSK were 4 down very early. Ambati Rayudu retired out. When you get that many wickets early, you have to keep your foot down. You talk about momentum; you need to keep it going," Pietersen said during the innings interval on Star Sports.
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"I think Mumbai Indians missed a trick. I don't know what Kieron Pollard was thinking by not bowling Jasprit Bumrah for 2 or 3 overs. They could have been 40/7, 50/7. CSK could have been 60, 70 or 80 all out. I'm not being silly when I say that. You have got to bowl your fast, strike bowlers."
Jasprit Bumrah was taken off after just one over, and the ball was handed to Krunal Pandya and Deepak Chahar. Although Chahar bowled a tight spell, Krunal leaked runs with Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja growing in confidence. The two stitched a partnership of 81 runs to put CSK back in the game, which is something Pietersen reckons should have been avoided given the fact that 3 of their top four were all dismissed for ducks – Ambati Rayudu was retired hurt – MS Dhoni fell for 3 and Suresh Raina for 4.
"They were allowed into the game. There is nowhere in this world that they should have been in this game. Mumbai Indians should have cleaned them out. These are things that are discussed in team meetings. If you had been 40/4 or something like that, you don't bring spinners in and if you do, you don't put fielders in the boundary," Pietersen added at the end of the match.