IPL 2021: "We were focusing more on the wicket" - Ishan Kishan explains Mumbai Indians slow start in IPL 2021
Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan has shed some light on their slow start in the first half of the IPL 2021. The defending champions were placed fourth in the points table with four wins from seven matches before the tournament was postponed on May 4 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
During a candid conversation with former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, Ishan Kishan revealed that, as a team, Mumbai Indians focused more on the Chepauk wicket which hurt them badly.
Speaking on Chopra's YouTube channel, Ishan Kishan said:
"Whenever we start a tournament, we do a team huddle where we discuss what we want to do this year. Like last year, we wanted to break the odd-even thing of winning the IPL and we did that in Dubai. The plan this season was to win the first match of the season because more or less we have lost the first matches of every IPL season."
"We also lost our first match of this year in Chennai but what happened in the first half was that we were focusing too much on the wickets and not much on our game and what we can do on that particular day. We realised that late but as soon as we landed in Delhi we knew how the wickets are and we won two back-to-back matches and made a comeback. We need to brush aside these thoughts because we play only on these kind of wickets in domestic cricket," Ishan Kishan added.
Mumbai Indians lost three of their first five matches in Chennai before winning two out of two in Delhi to bounce back in IPL 2021. The Rohit Sharma-led side will hope to continue their strong run of form when the tournament resumes.
"The belief comes from the hard work we put before the tournament" - Mumbai Indians' Ishan Kishan
Speaking on the Mumbai Indians team culture, Ishan Kishan revealed that the squad has a unique belief in themselves that they can come back from any situation.
"The environment in the dressing room is like even if we lose 3 out of 3 matches the players are on the same page. We believe that we are going to win our next 4 matches and make a comeback in the tournament. This belief is because of the hard work that we put in before the tournament as we start preparing one month before the other teams. We know deep inside that whatever the situation is we will overcome and win," he added.
Mumbai Indians will begin their campaign in the 2nd half of IPL 2021 against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on September 19 in Dubai.