Guwahati, April 8 Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted that his team was outplayed by a blistering opening partnership from Rajasthan Royals' Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying that the bowlers lost their rhythm and accuracy on a night when even Jasprit Bumrah "probably missed his line by a bit".
Mumbai Indians suffered a 27-run defeat in a rain-affected IPL match as Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi put on a stunning display that helped Rajasthan Royals reach 150 for 3 in 11 overs, before their bowlers tightened the screws to restrict Mumbai Indians to 123 for 9 on Tuesday night.
This was MI's second loss after starting the season with a win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
"We weren't good enough, and that's what we need to work on. I think we had some plans, but...we didn't execute those plans as well as we wanted. These batsmen are batting really well. We knew the danger, especially when the rain shortened the match, and you have the freedom to attack early on."
"We needed to make sure that the first four or five overs were crucial for us. And, yeah, I think we missed our line and length, and they played really well," said the former Sri Lankan batsman.
He added that even a bowler of Bumrah's caliber had to struggle against the onslaught of the two RR openers, who together scored a blazing 80 runs in the first five overs, with Jaiswal making an unbeaten 77 off 32 balls and Sooryavanshi 39 off 14.
"I think we all knew his (Sooryavanshi's) talent from the way he played last year. We managed to control him last season. And every match is a challenge."
"Bumrah probably missed his line by a bit, and he was prepared for this. So, yeah, it will be interesting to see how he develops. But definitely, he really put our bowlers under pressure," added Jayawardene.
However, much of RR's total came from Jaiswal's batting, and Jayawardene said that it was the batsman who truly took control of the game.
"Don't forget that Jaiswal was the key... the way he batted. In the first three overs, he dominated. He played some really good shots, and he played a long innings for them."
Jayawardene felt that his team, despite having the capability, couldn't build a match-winning partnership, as the loss of early wickets halted their momentum.
"We just needed a couple of strong partnerships. We lost a few early wickets, and we lost momentum.
"If you look at the end, it was four sixes that made the difference, so it was four crucial hits for us, and we just couldn't find that. And that was without us getting into a rhythm, and maybe one or two batsmen really getting quick 30s or 40s in the top order. So, we never thought that it was out of our reach."
He said the team will have to regroup, make adjustments, and plan their next steps.
"We just need to sit down and see where we need to improve. I mean, we know what we need to do, but going out there and having that belief, confidence, the players getting together and working hard. We need to regroup and work hard on what we need to do."