Jayawardene calls LSG loss a ‘setback’, wants MI to be more ‘ruthless’

Jayawardene Calls LSG Loss a 'Setback', Wants MI to be More 'Ruthless'

Mumbai Indians' head coach Mahela Jayawardene has called their 12-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants a "setback" and wants his team to be more "ruthless" with both bat and ball.

"We need to be a bit more ruthless when we're in those kinds of situations to try and finish a game off," Jayawardene said. "We had the game in control most of the time, but it was just disappointing that we couldn't finish it."

Jayawardene attributed the loss to mistakes made with the ball and not being able to execute in key situations. He also praised Hardik Pandya's bowling, saying that he adjusted his bowling to suit the pitch.

"With the experience that he has, he realised that this [bowling slow and back of length] is what he probably needs to do because we did leak too many runs in the powerplay," Jayawardene said.

MI have struggled on the road, losing 14 of their last 19 away games, including three in a row this season. Jayawardene believes that the team needs to fine-tune their bowling and improve their batting to be more competitive.

"We need to execute and finish a game off," Jayawardene said. "When you come on the road, you are put under challenges and that's what good teams do, try and win away from home."

MI will look to bounce back with a win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at home, before traveling to face Delhi Capitals and then returning to Wankhede to host Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings in back-to-back games.