A tough loss to take in. Being right in the contest for the majority of the game and losing the plot towards the end certainly hurts.

However, we are not a team that would drop the shoulders and retreat to our den. Learning from our mistakes and getting back on the field with the same vigour each time out is what Mumbai Indians are all about! 💪

Speaking at the post-match press conference, our head coach Mahela Jayawardene began by applauding Tilak Varma’s valiant effort and the retired-out decision ahead of the final over of the chase.

“I think Tilak batted well for us when we lost that [Naman Dhir] wicket and built that partnership with Surya. He just wanted to get going, but he just couldn't then. It's some time spent there, so you should have been able to get that hit out of the way.

“I just felt that at the end, I just needed someone fresh to go and he was struggling… These things happen in cricket. It was a tactical decision at that point,” Mahela said.

Further, MJ gave his honest assessment of the game and was optimistic about the run chase, irrespective of the huge target in sight.

“I think at the halfway point, even at the fourteenth over mark, I think we were in it. Yes, we had the game in control for most of the time ever after losing those two early wickets.

“It's just disappointing that we just couldn't finish it. I think it's early season, so we need to be a bit more ruthless when we're in those kinds of situations to try and finish a game off,” Mahela opined.

Our head coach also spoke about Rohit Sharma’s unfortunate injury and whether the same had an impact on the outcome of the match.

“Rohit got a hit on his knee and he tried to bat yesterday but couldn't put any weight on it.

“He came and did a fitness test early today to try. It was uncomfortable for him to bat and put weight on that. He felt that it wasn't 100% for him to play this game. So that's why we thought to give him a few more days to try and get through. That was unfortunate what happened in the nets,” MJ said.

“There's not much of a change. It's regular. It's just we're taking a guy out and bringing a guy in. So we are not technically impacted… Who we are is entirely up to us on a tactical basis,” Mahela completed.

Meanwhile, Jayawardene applauded HP’s all-round efforts in #LSGvMI, putting a special emphasis on his bowling performance where he recorded his best figures in T20s.

“I think Hardik has that ability to hold when the ball is swinging. He's got that adaptability and that’s why he is the best all-rounder going around. With the experience that he has, he realised what he probably needed to do because we leaked too many runs in the powerplay.

“We just needed to take a bit of pace off, which we should have done in the powerplay. I think that's why these guys are experienced. They adapt to conditions pretty well and see what the opportunities present. And definitely, with the ball, he pulled the game back for us and gave us a pretty decent chance of chasing this total,” he said.

To conclude, our head coach acknowledged the ‘setback’ and the way forward for the rest of the tournament.

“I have to be honest. It is a setback. We probably made quite a few mistakes, especially with the ball. We should have probably restricted them to 20-50 runs less. At the same time, batting-wise, we had the momentum, even after losing early wickets.

“I put it down to us not being smart enough in certain situations and not being able to execute what needed to be executed. So, we just need to go back. We had three away games and one home game. We would love to win away matches, but now it's up to us to get our points on the board and then push through,” Mahela finished.

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Time to reflect on the positives and put this game behind us. Yes, we weren’t 100% clinical and that’s something we, collectively as a group, will ponder upon with plenty of matches remaining.

Up next – #MIvRCB at our beloved Wankhede. Let’s turn the ‘wrongs’ into ‘rights’ and make a terrific comeback! 🙌