Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard expressed confidence in Ishan Kishan’s potential despite his poor performance against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024. Kieron Pollard expressed hope that Kishan would recover and show his skills.
Ishan Kishan returned to action at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24. He skipped India’s recent Test series, including against South Africa and England, leading to his omission from the BCCI’s central contract list along with Shreyas Iyer.
The left-handed opener faced a challenging start in his first match of the prestigious tournament. Kishan was dismissed for a duck against Azmatullah Omarzai, who made his debut for the Titans. Omarzai set the tone for the Titans’ 168-run defense.
Kishamm struggled with Omarzai’s new-ball pitches, facing three inswingers before chasing a stray ball, resulting in his dismissal with a four-ball duck. This challenging start marked a difficult start for the 25-year-old in the ongoing tournament.
Ishan Kishan didn’t score tonight – Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard stated that Ishan Kishan is in good form and anticipates significant contributions from him in the upcoming matches, urging continued support from fans and experts alike.
“I don’t understand the controversial circumstances. You’ve clearly stated why he wasn’t playing, so I guess we have to take that into account. Everything as a player and as an individual as well, playing international sports is very, very difficult, it’s not as easy as people might think,” Pollard said in the post-match press conference.
“For him, again, he didn’t score tonight, so we can see all kinds of different things, but I said it’s a long tournament, he’s an experienced guy within our organization and we expect big things from Ishan, he’s in good space, he has been practicing well and he has done quite decently, so I hope that in the next two games you can see great performances from him and you will all continue to praise his brain when he does it,” he added.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya decided to bowl first. Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee showed stellar performances as their key players. Bumrah provided early breakthroughs by delivering an exceptional yorker to dismiss opener Wriddhiman Saha.
Coetzee made a significant impact, finishing with two wickets for 27 runs in his four overs. Sai Sudharsan (45) was the home team’s top scorer while Shubman Gill contributed 31 runs.
Rohit Sharma (43 off 29) provided a solid start for Mumbai Indians following the dismissal of Ishan Kishan. He formed a 77-run partnership with Dewald Brevis, who scored 46 off 38. However, Rohit’s dismissal changed the momentum of the game in favor of the Titans.
After Rohit’s exit, the MI team faced more setbacks as Brevis and Tilak Varma fell to the Titans bowlers. The quick dismissals of Tim David and Hardik Pandya in the final overs added to their woes and ultimately led to the Mumbai-based team faltering in their chase.
The Hardik Pandya-led team will compete against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their second IPL match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27.
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