Mark Boucher felt Chennai Super Kings’ effort with the ball cost Mumbai Indians more than Ajinkya Rahane’s stunning half-century in the game between the two most successful sides in the competition. “The bowling hurt us more,” said the MI coach after his side won by seven wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja picked up three Mumbai Indians batters including an amazing one-handed reflex catch off his own bowling and his figures of three for 20 which dismantled the hosts’ batting as well. However, they ended up with a below-par total of 157 for 8 which CSK chased down easily, thanks to a swashbuckling knock of 27-ball 61 by Rahane.
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“Rahane played some good cricket shots but it was their bowling that hurt us at the end of the day. Look at our bowlers and their batters. We have not had enough runs on the board. In the game of T20 cricket, especially, now when we have impact players, we had seven batters today. For us to make 157 was not good enough on that wicket. We probably should have got 180-190,” Mark Boucher said. “So full credit to them. [There were] a couple of lucky dismissals. That Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] shot probably should have gone for a four. It was unlucky for him that he got caught (by MS Dhoni behind the stumps).”
Boucher also added that he was not worried about Suryakumar Yadav’s form. The team’s batting mainstay managed only one run on Saturday night. Moreover, they played without Jofra Archer in the game but the coach hoped he will be available for selection soon.
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“Surya is an extremely talented cricketer, one of the world’s best T20 cricketers, if not the best. He has not had the weight of runs of late but he is a fantastic player. Hope he can come good for us in the near future. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. We all know what he can do. That is just the game of cricket. Sometimes you go through patches,” Mark Boucher concluded. “He picked up a little niggle. We have got a fantastic medical team. They are looking after him. He is a massive player. Hope he will be back soon.”
