(Cricket news) The second phase of Indian Premier League has now seen all the teams play ten matches as there are four more to go and bowlers are having a good time in UAE. The teams have scored more than 170 on only two occasions in eleven matches and Harshal Patel extended his lead with a hat trick against Mumbai Indians.
Five time champion Mumbai Indians are currently in the seventh position of the points table with eight points from ten matches. They have lost the three matches played in UAE, their last victory was against Chennai Super Kings in May and now have failed to score above 160 in the second phase. They only have four matches to play and would want to make a comeback like most of the seasons.
Mumbai Indians have so far had a poor run with the bat even though they have the finest players on their side. Kieron Pollard has scored 43 runs while facing 39 balls in the last three matches, Ishan Kishan has scored 34 in three matches and Suryakumar Yadav has scored in single digits in his last three matches. Quinton De Kock is the leading run getter in the second phase with 96 runs while Rohit Sharma is the leading run getter overall with 326 runs in nine matches.
Pollard and Hardik Pandya need to step up and bring the team back into the top four. They both have the ability to strike the ball against spinners and pacers but Pandya has played only one match in the second phase since he has been struggling with a chronic back injury. Pandya is yet to bowl in the second phase. Saurabh Tiwary hit a half century in the first match but was the only in the team who faced more than 18 balls as the batting line up collapsed leaving him stranded.
In the bowling department, the team has done fairly well with Jasprit Bumrah being the highest wicket taker overall and in the second phase too. He has taken 14 wickets in ten matches along with Rahul Chahar who has taken twelve wickets in ten matches. Bumrah was the only wicket taker against Kolkata Knight Riders as Trent Boult proved economical against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Krunal Pandya played well in the third match against Bangalore after leaking few runs in the first two matches.
The team will play their next match against Punjab Kings and will expect Bumrah, Chahar and Boult to continue their form against a good batting line up. Rohit Sharma has been playing well but has not been able to find a consistent partner as youngsters Kishan and Suryakumar have not been able to contribute to the team. They will be up against Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh who have 13 wickets each, Arshdeep had taken a five wicket haul against Rajasthan Royals a week ago. The batsmen will need to lift up the team spirits only then once again can they manage an incredible comeback.
Also read: Middle-order hasn't fired, that is putting a lot of pressure: Zaheer
