IPL 2022: Batting has been a problem area and we're not taking early wickets: MI coach Jayawardene

Mumbai, April 25: Mumbai Indians disastrous season continued as they fell to their eighth straighth loss of the season at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. The five-time champions, who returned to their fortress, had a disappointing homecoming as newcomers Lucknow Super Giants handed them a 36-run loss.

Mumbai's head coach Mahela Jayawardene said one of the biggest areas of concern for MI this season has been their batting. In Sunday's match, LSG skipper KL Rahul struck an unbeaten ton to take Lucknow to 168/6. After Krunal Pandya's three-wicket haul saw MI being restricted to 132/8, MI skipper Rohit Sharma had said at the post-match presentation ceremony, that the batting unit was at fault.

Backing the skipper's opinion, coach Jayawardene, said during the post-match press conference, "I need to review this. I have to have a chat with the rest of the coaches. Batting has been a problem area. We have batter under par. We have problems, batting first or chasing.

"In a tournament like this, bowling sides are controlling things. We have not hit our straps, and we are not taking early wickets. The (opposition) batsmen are scoring centuries against us," said Jayawardene.

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Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai headed into the game winless. Playing at the Wankhede after three years in front of a sea of blue, the Rohit Sharma-led side elected to bowl first and got off to a good start, restricting LSG to 32 in the powerplay for one wicket.

Despite Rahul's ton, the other batsmen found it tough to get going as regular wickets kept the score in check. KL Rahul's century, the second one against MI this season, saw LSG post 168, which as per skipper Rohit was a chaseable score.

Though Mumbai got off to a steady start, putting up 49 off 43 for the opening stand, the MI batsmen couldn't finish it off as wickets crumbled in the middle. Rohit Sharma (39) and Tilak Varma's (38) innings kept the former champions in the game, but Mumbai once again failed to cross the hurdle as they fell to their eighth straight loss.

While the most successful IPL team is languishing at the bottom of the table without any points, the win saw newcomers Lucknow Super Giants climb to the fourth spot with five wins from eight games.