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Mahela Jayawardene cut a calm but plainly frustrated figure after Mumbai Indians slipped to their fourth defeat in five matches, a seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings that leaves the five-time champions searching – again – for what the head coach calls “the spark”.
“Sometimes you need a bit of luck as well,” Jayawardene reminded reporters, speaking specifically about Jasprit Bumrah’s unusual wicketless run this season. Luck, though, has not been the only problem.
Key facts first
• MI have lost four of five, two of those at Wankhede.
• Captain Hardik Pandya has missed one game through illness, Rohit Sharma sat out the Punjab match with a groin niggle, and late-arrival Mitchell Santner was also unwell.
• Bumrah, MI’s go-to quick, has 0 wickets in five outings and went at 10.25 an over against PBKS.
What the main voices said
“I don’t think it’s just on Hardik, I think it’s on every one of us when we are not doing well,” Jayawardene stressed. “It’s not an individual. It’s pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that to see how can we be better. I know we are playing good cricket. We are not taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, clinical; obviously the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start so we just need to control phases that we can control. So I think it’s not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt that will give us that confidence.”
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch, on television duty, was blunter. “Except Bumrah, MI bowling attack didn’t look threatening,” he said, echoing a view many supporters shared on social media.
Why have the changes not helped?
Injuries and illness have forced MI to shuffle, sometimes at the last minute. “I think the four games that we lost – two away and two at home – were different kind of games and we did try some combinations and some of those combinations were forced on us because of injuries and players not [being] available,” Jayawardene explained. “So [we are] trying to create something of what is available. But we are finding some spark in certain areas but the other side is finding that especially with the ball; we haven’t been able to penetrate oppositions so that’s something that we really have to work harder [at] and see how we can improve on that.”
Bumrah’s barren run
“I think Bumrah is bowling well – it’s just where we are not putting pressure in the powerplay,” Jayawardene said. “They [opposition batters] know they don’t need to take too much risk against Bumrah as well, and we have tried a few different things, which he is trying as well, but they are batting well. I can’t put a finger and say why he’s not taken wicket… but as a unit we have lacked that penetration in different surfaces and that’s something that we need to work [on] and see what we need to do.”
Bumrah’s average speed has dipped a touch – mid-130s rather than high-130s kph – although Jayawardene suggested that is mainly down to managing workload so early in the season. The figures still read tidily enough (economy 7.7), yet wickets are what MI need at the top and, so far, none have arrived.
Broader analysis
For all the chopping and changing, MI’s basic issues feel familiar: powerplay wickets, reliable middle-overs spin and, at the death, someone to complement Bumrah. Hardik’s bowling has been sporadic, Piyush Chawla’s leg-breaks haven’t bitten, and Santner’s absence removed the only specialist left-arm option. The batting, Rohit aside, looks fine on paper; the question is whether 180-ish totals can be defended while the attack searches for rhythm.
Where next?
Two away games follow, starting with an in-form Rajasthan Royals side. Another defeat would pile pressure on a squad already short on points and, perhaps more significantly, short on conviction. Yet Jayawardene remains steady. “We just need one result to go our way,” he said quietly on his way out of the press room. A single spark, in other words, to light the season.
