Mumbai Indians succumbed to their biggest Indian Premier League (IPL) defeat on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium following a relentless assault from Chennai Super Kings, who raced to a thumping 103-run win. For CSK, red-hot Sanju Samson blazed an unbeaten century to take the side to an imperious total of 207/6 in 20 overs. Samson moved to his century with a towering six off the final ball of the innings, finishing at 101* off 54 balls. Speaking on MI's lean run, head coach Mahela Jayawardene expressed confidence in the side's ability to find rhythm while admitting that they have not played good cricket.
"Honestly, we haven't played good cricket. It's been in patches. We had a great game in Ahmedabad. I thought we found some rhythm, but again we lost that rhythm," Jayawardene said at the press conference.
"Once you lose a match like that, it's difficult to even analyse it. But probably we lost both the powerplays with the ball and with the bat; we just couldn't get to the game," he said.
"We have got a little break now; it gives us some time to really sit down and think what we need to do the next seven matches, and we know exactly what we need to do, and we'll plan and put our best foot out," Jayawardene stated.
Jayawardene also dismissed concerns around Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav's form. Notably, both players have been unable to find form in the ongoing season of IPL, scoring 97 and 156 runs in six and seven games, respectively.
"I think, (in) modern day (cricket), everyone is a professional. A lot of the guys who played World Cup have come back after a break to play the IPL," Jayawardene said.
"I don't think even the players would put to that (fatigue); it's about us getting the rhythm, getting that consistency – overall consistency is something we are lacking. Like I said, yes, bowling, we need to improve, but at the same time batting hasn't been consistent as well," he said.
"We just need to find that space where we can compete. If we play our best cricket, we have a great chance, but the confidence, the focus, the discipline has to be there for the next seven games," he added.