"Was evident from Rohit Sharma's face that he wasn't happy" - Murali Kartik on MI's bowling performance vs GT
Murali Kartik believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) have to fine-tune certain areas despite their 27-run win over the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wakhede Stadium on Friday, May 12.
The former Indian spinner feels that the performances of the Mumbai bowlers have been underwhelming in the ongoing IPL 2023, especially during the death overs. Kartik suggested that the bowlers will have to step up, as they won't have the luxury of defending a 219-run target every single time.
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that skipper Rohit Sharma looked upset with the bowlers, despite the team's victory. Speaking to Cricbuzz after the game, Murali Kartik explained:
"Mumbai are still not back on track. There are still a few areas where there is some scope for improvement. If I am not mistaken, their bowling stats in the death overs will be the worst in this tournament. There are still loose ends.
"You won't get the cushion of 220 runs every time. You will also need to defend 170-180 totals at times. They didn't seem to have a Plan B once Rashid started to attack. It was evident from Rohit Sharma's face that he wasn't happy."
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Notably, Mumbai had Gujarat reeling at 103/8 in the 14th over. However, the MI bowlers looked clueless against Rashid Khan's onslaught towards the back end of the innings. The bowling all-rounder remained unbeaten on 79 off just 32 balls, helping his side finish at 191/8 in 20 overs.
"Had Gujarat planned a bit differently, this might not have been the result" - Murali Kartik
Murali Kartik further stated that the Gujarat-based side could have ended up on the winning side if they had come out with a different approach during the run chase.
He suggested that the defending champions tried to up the ante right from the start, which resulted in them losing quick wickets early on, adding:
"Mumbai did win, but it wasn't that they were able to do it comfortably. At one point, it appeared that they would bundle Gujarat out very quickly. GT went hard, as they needed over 12 runs per over. Because of that, they lost a lot of wickets.
"Rashid Khan showed towards the end that the target could have been chased. Because there are still some problems with MI's bowling. Had Gujarat planned a bit differently, this might not have been the result."
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Mumbai have won seven of their 12 matches so far and currently occupy the third spot in the standings. Gujarat, on the other hand, are the table-toppers with eight wins from 12 games.