IPL 2016, KKR vs MI Live

IPL 2016, KKR vs MI: Rohit Sharma hopeful Mumbai Indians will bounce back against Kolkata Knight Riders

 

 Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma expects his side to come good against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. (Source: IPL)

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday asserted that his side would bounce back from the defeat in the IPL campaign opener and pick up steam as the tournament progresses as they know how to “win the trophy and games”.

Mumbai Indians had a typical slow start to their title defence in season nine, going down to Pune Supergiants by nine wickets on April 9 but Rohit said his team has in it the wherewithal to come back stronger.

“It (the loss) was disappointing, the performance we had is not something we would want. But things like this can happen. What has happened has happened and we don’t want to carry any baggage. We have gone back to the drawing board and decided what we can’t afford as a team. We have rectified our mistakes. Hopefully we have a better game here,” Rohit said on the eve of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

“We are a team that knows what we to do to win the trophy and win games. This is professional unit and you don’t need to motivate the team. Everyone knows what is expected. You can’t get demotivated. You have to come back stronger. That is the only way going forward,” he added.

Rohit said every team needs some time some time to settle down and the first few weeks would be a challenge. “The first few games are always challenging because as a group you are all trying to get together and play as a team which is difficult for every team, not just Mumbai Indians. That is a challenge for us as well. The first few weeks will be a big challenge, to get the right combination and field your best team,” he said.

Right from his decision to bat first, the team selection also came in for criticism as their batsmen put up a shoddy display to be restricted to 121/8 by Pune Supergiants.

“We play according to the condition and get right balance of the squad. Sometimes it will work and sometimes it may not. It is important that you identify that as early as possible in the tournament and make sure you have a settled squad going ahead. It is always important to give the guys a few games to prove themselves,” said the right-handed opening batsman.

On the poor starters tag of Mumbai Indians, he said, “People are there to comment but we want to concentrate on our processes. People will judge and talk because we are probably one of the popular teams in IPL history and we have proved that in our performances. People have the right to talk about it but we don’t want to be slow starters. We want to win as many games as possible in the first half and see what happens afterwards. It is still early days. We want to work hard and concentrate on what lies ahead of us.”

Talking about Wednesday’s match, Rohit said, “We will be playing KKR at their home ground and they know the conditions better. They play well as a team here in this ground. We have to combat all the challenges and we are up for it. It will be a good game.”

He said it’s the opening slot he cherished the most as he’s been doing that for last three years. “It’s going to be important to get the balance and position of each player right where they have batted for their state/country. I have been batting for three years as an opener and would like to continue that for the remainder of the series.

“Everything depends on the balance. If I feel that me batting at the top is not right for the team, I will come down as a middle order batsman. If it helps the team, I am ready to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” said the 28-year-old.

He said leading from the front as a captain was a big responsibility and he always cherished it. “It will be no different this year as well. I will try and do the same. We have got a great squad and great depth in our batting. Along with me there are a few other guys who have played international cricket and proved themselves in the international circuit. We have to share the responsibility.

“It can’t be just one person to win the whole tournament. Last year we hardly had anyone in top five run getters’ list which shows everyone contributed and shared responsibility. You will have individual brilliance at times but to win the tournament it has to come form everyone,” said the skipper.

“Not just one person. For us, the past three years that is the reason we had so much success. I would expect to share the same and step up as a leader and perform in every game I can.”

Giving an update on Lasith Malinga, he said the Sri Lankan pacer who’s down with injury would not be available for a few weeks. “Malinga is not going to be available for the next few weeks. We have to see his fitness. He will definitely not play the game. We are keeping a track on him. We are seeing how he is progressing with his injury.”

But at the same time, he added it’s a fantastic opportunity for Jasprit Bumrah. “Bumrah has evolved as a cricketer in the last couple of months. When we were in Australia, he bowled pretty well and carried that performance in Asia Cup and in World T20. He is more mature now as a bowler and he knows what is expected of him.

“He is much stronger and fitter than what he was last year. We have a lot of expectations from him but at the same time as a group we don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He is still young who is trying to make a mark in international cricket. He is also trying his best to become a better cricketer.”

The captain also backed his big-hitting West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard who’s returned from an injury layoff but only to score one from eight balls in the last game. “He (Pollard) needs to be judged after the first half of the tournament. He looks fit and wants to go out and express himself. He could not do that in the last game but a player like him cannot be written off after one game. He is a match-winner for us and he has proved it over the years. It will be no different this year,” Rohit said.

“He is raring to go and there is no doubt about it. Even a couple of years back he had the same injury with his knee.

It was his left knee that time and this time it is his right. It is always tough when you come back from an injury.

“You always want to get out on the field and get a feel of it but that is never going to be easy. But he joined the team a week before and trained. He is looking good and you cannot actually judge a player like him after one game.”

IPL 9: Narine's Return Boosts Kolkata Knight Riders Against Mumbai Indians

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine's return will enable a confident Kolkata Knight Riders to tighten the noose when they take on a shaky Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Both the Knights and defending champions MI were a part of utterly lop-sided campaigns in their respective lung openers.

While Knights clinically decimated Delhi Daredevils by 9 wickets having bowled the opposition for a sub-100 score, the Mumbai Indians were at the receiving end with league debutants Rising Pune Supergiants giving them a sound thrashing by 9 wickets.

Narine, who had left for the Caribbean after his father's demise is back in Kolkata, and with clearance from the ICC will like to forge a lethal combination with 45-year-old Chinaman exponent Brad Hogg, if both are picked as overseas recruits.

Narine with 74 IPL scalps from four seasons has been instrumental in Gautam Gambhir leading the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise to titles in 2012 and 2014.

If the jet-lagged Narine is available, it will mean a selection dilemma for Gambhir with the Aussie veteran Brad Hogg (3 for 19) being the pick of their bowler rattling DD for 98 in 17.4 overs.

In that case, Gambhir may like to dump John Hastings, who did bowl well against Daredevils. A look at India's recent series in Australia will indicate that Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma had really played the big-bodied Aussie really well. The other option is to play a batsman less to induct Narine and in that case Colin Munro may be made to sit out.

That apart, KKR has the perfect winning combination in place even if that would mean a heartbreak for Bangaldeshi star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who could not make the XI despite his fine performance in the World Twenty20, where he took 10 wickets from seven matches.

This will be KKR's last match at the Eden this month as they will hit the road for six successive away matches with West Bengal in the middle of the Assembly polls as Gambhir's men cannot afford to let go the crucial two points at home.

If Mumbai Indians, who had won their two IPL titles at this venue in 2013 and 2015, will have to bounce back from the defeat against debutants Pune Supergiants in the IPL opener, the onus will be on their batters to decode the spin puzzle of KKR at their happy hunting venue.

But going by their performance in the last match, it looked extremely weak as the defence of the title looks very shaky even at this early stage unless they get back to the rhythm at the earliest.

It will be skipper Rohit Sharma who will have to lead by example up front at the same venue where he had scored an ODI world record 264.

After surprisingly deciding to bat on a strip with seam movement and bounce, Mumbai Indians star batsmen struggled as they were 68 for 7 in the 16th over, having lost their top four batsmen inside five overs for 30.

It was the feisty Harbhajan who wriggled them out of the hole with an unbeaten 30-ball 45 to prop the total to 121 for 8. The target proved too little for the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis and KP Pietersen who scripted a nine-wicket win in 14.4 overs.

"Hopefully, we will go back and come back with a positive frame of mind. Never thought the ball would do that much having played a lot of cricket here. They swung it a lot and our shot selection wasn't great. We have good memories in Kolkata. It's just the start of the tournament, no need to panic," Rohit had said.

With their team think-tank boasting the legendary duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to go with a star studded line-up captained by Rohit Sharma, there's an overflowing of talents in the most-decorated dressing room.

It will be all about channelising them to bring out the best XI something that had come in for much debate following their debacle at home.

Having impressed in India colours, Jasprit Bumrah struggled conceding 30 runs without a wicket, while Hardik Pandya (nine from 11 balls) too was unimpressive after being promoted to No 3 and gave away the winning runs leaking 12 in four balls.

West Indies big hitter Kieron Pollard, returning from an injury that kept him out of the World Twenty20, looked out of sorts in his one from eight balls as he would need a couple of games to get his eye back.

The exclusion of New Zealand big allrounder Corey Anderson who could have been a better option for Mitchell McClenaghan also came as a surprise so as that of Gujarat captain and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel who has had an impressive domestic season with a century in the last match in the one-day Deodhar Trophy.

Patel also had a fruitful Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy domestic T20 tournament where he scored four half-centuries as he along with Delhi opener Unmukt Chand may vie for a place.

Mumbai Indians may also have to rethink their bowling strategy at the Eden turner and Karnataka leftarm spinner J Suchith, a big turner of the ball, may seem a better option to go with the seasoned Harbhajan.

Teams (from)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Colin Munro, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, John Hastings, Brad Hogg, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Morne Morkel, Chris Lynn, Jason Holder, Kuldeep Yadav, Manan Sharma, Ankit Rajput, Rajagopal Sathish, Jaydev Unadkat and Sheldon Jackson.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Lendl Simmons, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Shreyas Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, R Vinay Kumar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Corey Anderson, Unmukt Chand, Marchant de Lange, Kishore Kamath, Siddhesh Lad, Krunal Pandya, Parthiv Patel, Deepak Punia, Nitish Rana, Jitesh Sharma, Nathu Singh, Tim Southee, Jagadeesha Suchith and Akshay Wakhare.