Raipur, May 11 (IANS) As Mumbai Indians are officially out of the playoffs race with Royal Challengers Bengaluru snatching a victory in a last-ball thriller, head coach Mahela Jayawardene reflected on the loss and backed the players to still give their best with three games remaining in the season.

After Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket haul limited Mumbai Indians to 166/7. In reply, Krunal Pandya’s 46-ball 73 on a challenging surface ensured the game never slipped out of RCB’s grasp. The match culminated in an unpredictable final over bowled by young Raj Angad Bawa, with RCB requiring 15 runs.

With the equation reduced to 9 runs needed off 3 balls, Bhuvneshwar dispatched a vital six into the stands. Then, Rasikh Salam struck the ball firmly down the pitch, where it unfortunately deflected off the bowler Bawa towards long-on, allowing the batters to scramble back for a desperate, match-winning double.

Speaking about youngster Raj Angad bowling that final over, Mahela said during the press conference, “All our experienced bowlers were done with their quota and we only had a few spinners left. Surya backed himself while Raj is also a decent bowler. During training he executes those wide yorkers consistently.

“He stuck to his line and picked the wicket of (Romario) Shepherd. He too was under pressure. We fought well; it was a game of margins. Probably we should have executed better at the end.”

Having suffered their eighth loss in 11 games, MI hopes of qualifying for the playoffs have been dashed. Meanwhile, RCB have moved to the top spot on the table with their seventh win in 11 games.

Sharing his thoughts about a rather disappointing finish, Jayawardene admitted that the team had its chances but was not good and consistent enough.

“The season, it’s disappointing. We’ve had our opportunities. We were not good enough. We were not consistent enough with the ball, with the bat, and that showed the margins. We were probably two-three wins away from being in the same group of contenders to get into that playoff. But we didn’t get those wins, and was another classic example that we were short.

“So, it’s difficult for me to sum up a season right now. I have to give it some thought as well and then figure out exactly what has gone wrong. But, we were not good enough with our skills and execution this season,” said Jayawardene.

When questioned on why MI were not able to play like the champion side they have always been… since there were a lot of expectations, the Lankan coach reflected, “We had players with niggles, some were injured while some were not available. So, the changes were forced ones. Tactically we would have had just a few of them. There are no excuses. We have a quality side and we had to put our hands up and perform. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

–IANS

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