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Death bowling is all about the mindset: Tymal Mills

By Mumbai Indians

Tymal Mills was one of six debutants for MI in our Tata IPL 2022 season opener against the Delhi Capitals.

Like M Ashwin and Basil Thampi, Mills struck in his very first over for MI and it was the big fish, opposing captain Rishabh Pant.

It was the best start anyone could have hoped for in a new team and the English pacer was no different.

“It was nice to get a wicket early, especially the big one of Pant. We know how dangerous he can be being one of the better batters in the world today. The wicket helped settle my nerves and hopefully there are more to come,” Mills stated in an interview with mumbaiindians.com.

Apart from his debut for MI, the match also marked Mills’ return to India for the first time since 2017.

“It’s great to be back here after five years - always a great place to play cricket. Felt nice to be playing in front of crowds, we had a lot of support for our first game. Hopefully, we see more of them in the coming matches,” he said.

Mills also felt the pitches are, currently, more suited to the fast bowlers but that could change soon.

“For now, the matches are all pretty high-scoring whilst the wickets are fresh so there is still some pace in them. With the tournament only being held in a few stadiums, as the games go on, maybe we will have to use our cutters more,” noted Mills.

Of course, the pacer is no stranger to using a few variations and mixing them up is a key element of winning battles in the death overs.

Mills is, in fact, one of the best operators in the world at the death. Since 2018, he has picked up 42 wickets in the last four overs of a T20 innings at an economy rate of 7.78 and averages 14.83 per wicket.

Those are obviously very good numbers - so how does the Englishman prepare himself for the slog overs?

“Bowling at the death is a lot about the mindset. You need to want to bowl the difficult overs when the pressure is on. It is something that I enjoy,” revealed Mills.

More importantly, he felt it is also about knowing that you cannot win every battle at the death.

“I understand that I am not gonna come out on top every time but when I do, it is a great feeling. Obviously, practice is very important so that when you are in those pressure situations, you are confident of your execution,” he added.

Being one of the best death bowlers in the world is a tag that Mills shares with Jasprit Bumrah and he is excited to develop a partnership with Boom.

“I am really excited to be bowling with Boom, he is one of, if not the, best bowlers in the world right now. I’m looking forward to learning from him and fingers crossed, as the tournament goes ahead, we can have a good relationship and win some games for MI,” said Mills.

Winning games is the pacer’s primary objective for the season but he does not just want to contribute with the ball, as can be heard in the video.

“That was slightly tongue-in-cheek but yeah I have been practising and hopefully, I won’t be needed much with the bat this tournament. If I get the chance though, you never know!” laughed Mills.

One of the quirks about the Englishman is his ambidexterity - he bowls with his left but bats and throws with his right hand. Even the man himself cannot explain it.

“I do not know why, right from childhood I always threw with my right and when it came to bowling, I used my left arm. I also write left-handed but I probably do more things right-handed than left, it’s a strange one that I can’t really explain,” he said.

Figures of 1/26 in three overs was an encouraging start for the Englishman in MI colours and we are excited to see how he progresses in the rest of the season.