Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL champions, suffered a disappointing start to the 16th edition of the league when they lost their opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight wickets on Sunday. Despite defending a total of 172, Mumbai Indians were unable to stop the home team’s openers, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, who scored 73 and 82 runs respectively, as Bangalore easily chased down the target with 20 deliveries to spare.
Mumbai Indians’ pacers, including Jofra Archer, Cameron Green, Arshad Khan, and Jason Behrendorff, were unable to contain RCB's batsmen and were hit for a significant number of runs. Archer, in particular, conceded 33 runs in his four-over quota, while the others leaked runs at an economy rate above 12 an over.
In preparation for their second game, Mumbai Indians' pace unit focused on their bowling techniques. Under the guidance of their bowling coach, Shane Bond, the team engaged in a yorker drill. Bond marked a spot with a pair of shoes to indicate where his bowlers should aim to land their deliveries. The drill aimed to help Mumbai Indians' pacers improve their accuracy and avoid conceding runs in the upcoming games.
During a net session, cricketers Arjun Tendulkar, Cameron Green, Arshad Khan, and other players were seen participating in a drill. Mumbai, the team that won the IPL title for the fifth time in 2020, has not made it to the playoffs in the last couple of seasons. Their upcoming match is against Chennai Super Kings, which is their second game of the season and will take place on April 8th at their home ground.
In contrast, Chennai Super Kings started off their IPL 2023 campaign with a defeat against Gujarat Titans, who won the match by five wickets. However, they bounced back in their first home game of the season against Lucknow Super Giants, winning the game by 12 runs and earning their first points of the season.
Both Mumbai and Chennai will be looking to put their best foot forward in their upcoming match, with Mumbai hoping to end their playoff drought and Chennai aiming to continue their winning momentum after their victory in the previous game. It remains to be seen which team will come out on top in this exciting encounter.
