Mumbai Indians are not writing off their IPL campaign, even after a difficult stretch that has left them with six defeats across eight matches. Kieron Pollard insisted the mindset within the camp remains \u201cdown, not out\u201d, following MI\u2019s six-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Pollard said the team has acknowledged that results have not gone their way often enough, but has not accepted the broader idea of defeat. \u201cWe haven\u2019t taken defeat as a given, but we have accepted that we\u2019ve been on the losing side more frequently than not in this tournament,\u201d he said after the match. He added that MI need to produce a full, disciplined performance to win at this stage, because the margin for error is shrinking as the competition progresses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to play a complete game of cricket if we want to win, because it\u2019s becoming tough the way things are unfolding. What I can say from the dressing room is that the energy and spirit of the guys is strong\u2014they\u2019re willing and they want to fight. Things like this happen,\u201d Pollard said. He also stressed that the loss, while painful, is not the end of the road, adding that there are more serious matters in life as well.<\/p>\n
MI\u2019s batting coach continued: \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s still cricket \u2014 two teams play, you win some and you lose some. And we\u2019ve been on the losing side.\u201d<\/p>\n
With MI sitting ninth in the points table after recording only two victories from eight games, Pollard pointed out that their situation still leaves room for a comeback. \u201cWhen I used the word \u2018defeat\u2019, I didn\u2019t want it to sound like Mumbai Indians are out of the tournament. Mathematically and from a points perspective, we\u2019re still very much in it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Pollard further clarified his earlier remarks, saying he wanted to be precise about where the team stands. \u201cI just felt that sometimes you have to be a little more specific so your message lands clearly. So yes, we\u2019ve accepted that we\u2019ve lost the last couple of games, but overall we haven\u2019t accepted defeat in this tournament because we\u2019re not out of it. We\u2019ll go back, assess what we can do, and see how far we can push our way through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s match marked MI\u2019s fourth loss at the Wankhede, their usual stronghold, and it again highlighted how hard it is for them to close out games in front of their home support. In the contest, more than 480 runs were scored in total, with MI unable to defend 243 as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased the target successfully.<\/p>\n
Pollard refused to shift blame to the pitch despite the heavy scoring. \u201cI\u2019m probably the wrong person to answer whether MI have a say in how the pitch is prepared. I\u2019m not privy to all that information\u2014what can or cannot be said about it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not going to sit here and make statements about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that the Wankhede has consistently hosted high-quality cricket for years, with international matches also played at the venue. \u201cWe\u2019ve all been here for years. We\u2019ve done well here for years. We\u2019ve seen international cricket at this ground. Two teams take the field every time, so you just have to be better\u2014and so far the opposition has been better than us,\u201d Pollard said.<\/p>\n
Pollard acknowledged the entertainment value of the game, noting the volume of runs. \u201cIt was a good game of cricket, with nearly 500 runs scored, so it was great from an entertainment point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he conceded that MI\u2019s bigger problem this season has been the inability to play a complete match. \u201cIn terms of what has gone wrong, I think we haven\u2019t been able to put together a full game of cricket as a team. It hasn\u2019t been as consistent as we would have hoped, and the results are showing that. It\u2019s not something you can ignore or pretend isn\u2019t happening,\u201d Pollard said.<\/p>\n
He added that while individuals can try to identify small areas to improve, the overall issue has been collective performance. \u201cYou can sit and try to pinpoint every little aspect, but collectively, I think we haven\u2019t been good enough,\u201d Pollard concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mumbai Indians are not writing off their IPL campaign, even after a difficult stretch that has left them with six defeats across eight matches. Kieron…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"MI vs SRH: Pollard \u201cDown, Not Out\u201d IPL Defeat Update","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"MI\u2019s Kieron Pollard keeps the \u201cdown, not out\u201d belief alive after another setback vs SRH\u2014details on the IPL defeat and what MI will fix next.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n