New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) After Mumbai Indians’ fourth consecutive loss, head coach Mahela Jayawardene offered a staunch defense of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for not being among the wickets so far in five matches and said “he can’t put a finger and ‘say why he hasn’t taken wickets.'”

In five matches so far, Bumrah has struggled to make an impact as he has conceded 164 runs and remained wicketless. In the match against Punjab Kings on Thursday, he leaked runs at an economy rate of 10.20, conceding 41 runs in his four-over quota.

“Boom is bowling well. We are not putting pressure in the power play. They (oppositions) know they don’t need to take risks against Boom. We have tried a few things, which he trying as well. They are batting well. Can’t put a finger and say why he hasn’t taken wickets,” Jayawardene said at the post-match press conference.

Bumrah has also been bowling at a marginally reduced pace, and Jayawardene attributed it to workload. “I think initially because he had a slight niggle… we wanted to build him up, over the last few games his speeds have gone up, we’ve looked at all that, so he’s very comfortable,” he added.

Despite Quinton de Kock’s century (112), MI were restricted to 195/6. In response, PBKS were once again powered by a blazing start. Prabhsimran Singh continued his rich vein of form, anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 80 off just 39 deliveries, registering his second consecutive half-century.

At the other end, skipper Shreyas Iyer complemented him perfectly with a composed fifty, guiding the innings with assurance. The chase was wrapped up emphatically in just 16.3 overs for the loss of three wickets.

Jayawardene further admitted that the team lacked penetration on different surfaces, and that is where they need to work.

“But as a unit, we have lacked that penetration in different surfaces and that is where we need to work and see what we can do. It’s on every one of us to see how we can be better. I know we are playing good cricket. We are not like taken out completely, but other teams are much better, clinical.

“Their confidence is high as well when they have those kinds of starts. We just need to control phases we can control. The onus is not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and get some wins under our belt to give us that confidence,” said Jayawardene.

–IANS

bc/