On Sunday, June 1, the Mumbai Indians (MI) lost their second IPL 2025 Qualifier game to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Mahela Jayawardene, the Mumbai Indians’ head coach, opened up about the loss. When asked about the game, the Sri Lankan veteran admitted that the five-time winners did not perform to their full potential and accepted that the Punjab Kings played better cricket than them that day. Mahela also praised the Punjab Kings for their approach to pursuing a score of 200 or more runs, while expressing disappointment with the team’s fielding performance.
“It was a successful season for us, but it was not to be this year. There could have been many ifs and buts, but I believe we did not play a perfect game, and we suffered the consequences. It was a wonderful campaign for us, especially the way we started and how we rallied as a team to play some really, really strong cricket. We had potential to make the playoffs, and we had a great opening game. Even today, I think we played some terrific cricket, with the exception that Kings played better cricket than us, particularly with the bat,” Jayawardene stated, as reported by.
“They were solid, especially when chasing 200. It’s not that simple. That was executed fairly effectively. We made a few mistakes with those two catchers, but that’s how the game works. We were lucky in the previous game. So I believe it was a good game of cricket, but we fell short. It’s as simple as that,” the Sri Lankan legend explained.
It wasn’t only about Bumrah. Mahela Jayawardene
The other topic of conversation was whether the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack was once again led by Bumrah, as it appeared to struggle for breakthroughs, with the world-class bowler having a rare off day throughout the match. However, Mahela refused to acknowledge that they were reliant on the star pacer, pointing some outstanding efforts by the other bowlers.
“I thought the others, notably Ashwini, bowled pretty well today, as did Mitch Santner and Hardik. So it was not all about Bumrah. He was hoping to get those wickets from,t, particularly the PowerPlay. Josh (Inglis) batted effectively. Overs 3-4 were executed nicely, and it was a battle between them. Either you get a wicket or they take advantage, and they did,” Mahela explained.
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