IPL 2021: We are still in the competition, says MI bowling coach Shane Bond

Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Shane Bond has refused to rule out his side’s prospects of qualifying for the playoffs of IPL 2021, despite a defeat by a margin of four wickets against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Sharjah on Saturday. The defending champions posted a total of just 129/8 in 20 overs, which DC chased down in 19.1 overs. This defeat has certainly affected MI’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs, leaving them dependent on the performances by other teams.

“I thought we had a chance to win the game”

“Yeah, it was pretty good, I thought we had a chance to win the game. On a very tough wicket I thought the score around 145 would probably be a winning total which finally proved to be right. The bowlers gave us an opportunity to win the game. I think Delhi played well in the middle, put some chances up in the middle when the going got tougher and the way Shreyas and Ravi played in the back end was very calm and composed. It’s a difficult wicket. I’m happy with the way the bowlers fought in the game,” said Bond in an interaction with MI’s official website.

“I think he (Suryakumar Yadav) just played the way he plays. He’s hitting the ball beautifully and training. But it’s just that getting through the first few balls and playing an excellent innings, getting that fluency which he had last season and he looked like the player he was last season. Today he played great shots and scored with a good strike rate. It’s unfortunate that he got out when he did. There is no real secret to him preparing his game plans. He’s a class player who’s been a bit out of touch. He played well for us,” added the former New Zealand cricketer.

“We’re still in the competition”

The MI bowling coach believes that there is no need to modify the plans to a massive extent. He further maintained that the team just needed to tie down a couple of little areas.

“I don’t think the plans will change too much. I think our ability to strike, you know, for someone to turn a thirty into a sixty, eliminate some free balls that were given today and make it tough for the opposition. It evens things up here if we can execute pretty simple game plans, especially when it’s tough to bat and score. We have a couple of little areas we need to tie down. Know we’re still in the competition even though we’ve lost today. We are looking at an opportunity to win the next game and hope it comes down to the last game for us. Look, we’re playing okay, we know we are not playing nearly to our best, but we’re still in the competition even though we’ve had five wins. So, all going well, two wins under our belt and a few results going our way can change things,” concluded Bond.

It will be interesting to see if the Mumbai-based franchise can make a strong comeback.