IPL 2022, LSG vs MI: Mahela Jayawardene mulls changes after Mumbai's sub-par batting show

On Sunday, Mumbai Indians produced a below-par batting show against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, head coach Mahela Jayawardene has mulled some changes.

Image credit: BCCI

Record five-time former champion Mumbai Indians surrendered to a 36-run defeat to new team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) Match 37. Played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, MI failed to utilise its home advantage, while it was a lacklustre show by the MI batters. Meanwhile, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene has mulled making some changes to the line-up.

MI was being blamed for its shoddy bowling for most of IPL 2022. While its bowlers were on target against LSG, barring skipper-opener KL Rahul's unbeaten 103, its batters goofed up the chasable target of 169. Meanwhile, Jayawardene has asserted that he will talk about the current situation with the rest of the coaches.

"Batting has been a concern for us, especially on good wickets where we have batted under par. It is a senior group that understands the conditions and performed in the past. We need to keep pushing, and if we need to make those changes, we will do that," Jayawardene said during the post-match press conference.

"We had few changes, but not a lot. We wanted to keep the batting consistent. There are concerns as we have not been consistent whether we are batting first or chasing totals down. Ishan [Kishan] has struggled a bit. We have given him the freedom to play his natural game. I haven't yet spoken to him today, but I will have a conversation with him soon," concluded Jayawardene.

However, Jayawardene lauded MI's improved batting by saying, "We bowled pretty well. I'm happy with the bowling, but we could have been better. Our bowlers have definitely improved the last two games, but we are still not consistent enough. Most bowling units are controlling things this season, but we have not picked many early wickets. So, there is room to improve, and we need to execute better."