A game that had everything in it.

Our boys gave it their all in a daunting run chase. Breaching a 222-run target was never gonna be easy, but the Hardik-Tilak masterclass and handy contributions from other batters kept us in the game right till the last over.

In the post-match press conference, our Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene gave his assessment of the contest while opining how leaking a handful of runs made the difference.

“I think the last few games where we are leaking 20 runs either with the bat or with the ball is hurting us. There's no doubt about that. We need to manage to be a bit more disciplined in both. The change of ball was the umpire's ball.

“Maybe there was a scratch or something. There was no dew, as such. The game was pretty much open until the last few balls. We had those couple of hits. They managed to execute better than us at those death overs,” said Mahela.

Moreover, MJ addressed the concerns around the impact in the powerplay and the opening partnerships, which have been our nemesis in the campaign so far.

“I think rather than names, the powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. We’ve leaked too many runs with the ball in the powerplay in the last few matches as well and we're not getting the starts and losing wickets.

“These are the margins. And then they had a big sixth over, which really hurt us in that powerplay. With the bat as well, I thought we had a good start, but just couldn't continue. We lost those two [opening] wickets and then we had to consolidate a little bit and lost a bit of momentum there.

“We had a few big overs in between but we weren't in the game in that first ten overs. I'm trying to summarize everything. Then there was some superb batting from Hardik and Tilak. We've almost got there. The margins are small in this competition. We are not hitting our strides and that's a concern,” he said.

On being asked if bowling first was a correct call given the nature of the wicket in addition to Bumrah’s role tonight, Mahela was quick to back Hardik’s decision at the coin toss.

“I think chasing-wise, it's been good here. The wicket was good. I don't think that was the wrong decision. We went wrong in the execution with the ball where we could have controlled things much better.

“We need to give them that opportunity first up and BOOM's coming back from a three-month period. We just wanted to ease him into the competition. He bowled well and he controlled things really well. So, the more he starts getting game time, he'll get into it. I mean, the last time he was playing a test match and all of a sudden he's playing a T20.

“So we need to understand that… The skills are brilliant. But there are areas for us to improve,” Jayawardene said.

Meanwhile, Mahela showered praises on Tilak Varma’s terrific outing, especially after the retired out decision in the #LSGvMI match.

“The game is such that it depends on the situation and how he plays. I have a lot of faith in Tilak's ability. That [LSGvMI] day, he just couldn't get going and it was a tactical call I made. I needed two hits from someone else and we tried that.

“Today I backed him to bat and he delivered and he will continue to deliver for us. The class is always going to be there and it's just sometimes you get bad days where you know you're not being able to hit that,” he said.

Following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Bumrah returned to play his first competitive match since the Border-Gavasker Trophy 2024-25. On that, MJ revealed that he was happy with his performance in a high-stakes fixture.

“It gives us more options. I just spoke to him after the game and he looks in good shape. He's disappointed as well [about the result].

“He wanted a win when he came back. I think the pace was up and the execution was good. Yesterday was his first day where he bowled to batters. We just need to put all these pieces together and execute a good game to give us confidence so that we can move on,” Mahela said.

To conclude, MJ revealed his thoughts on the season so far and if a change in personnel can lead to a change in fortunes.

“Not really [On change in team combination].

“The results are not going our way, but at the same time, you can agree that we're playing some good cricket as well. I still back the senior pros and all the guys I put out there. I think they have the skill. It's just that we need to be a bit more ruthless.

“At times, we're missing out on those one or two overs where we lose our discipline with the bat as well as with the ball. So that's something that we need to rectify. Losing is not a great thing. You start doubting yourself and, sometimes, a fresh face coming into this kind of situation might be even tougher without the experience,” Mahela finished.

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Paltan, it was a ‘so close, yet so far’ kinda day. In the second innings, Tilak Varma (56 off 29) and Hardik Pandya (42 off 15) gave us a real chance to win the encounter, but it just wasn’t meant to be. 💔

We promise to get back on the field with an improved performance in our upcoming match against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday, with a 🎯 of +2 points, which will also help us get doing in the standings.