Following the embarrassing nine-wicket loss to Punjab Kings, former India opener Virender Sehwag felt the defending champions made a tactical error and that could have cost them the game. Sehwag reckoned given the fact that Ishan Kishan has not got among the runs in his four outings in IPL this season, Mumbai should have played in-form Suryakumar Yadav at the No 3 position.
“The kind of form Suryakumar was in, he hit a fifty earlier, perhaps he could have taken more advantage of the powerplay. See, even he could’ve gotten out early but he had better chances,” he said on Cricbuzz.
“You are sending someone who hasn’t scored runs in 4 matches with the hope that he will get you runs but you are demoting someone who has scored 2-3 out of your last 4 games. When 2-3 wickets fall quickly then there is pressure on that in-form player too,” Sehwag added.
Sehwag feels SKY in the powerplay would have been better as he could have provided the MI innings the much-needed momentum.
“It would have been better had they sent Suryakumar early in the powerplay. He could have given the necessary momentum to the innings. The only good thing for MI was that Rohit and Suryakumar batted till the 15-16th over. They thought their big-hitters would play fearless cricket in the backend of the innings but that didn’t happen,” Sehwag added further.
Mumbai lost the match by nine wickets and are still at the fourth position, while Punjab Kings climbed to the fifth spot after the comprehensive win. The win would give the Punjab outfit all the confidence they need going ahead in the tournament.