Strength of Mumbai Indians is to fight till the end, bowlers looking to adapt to the dew: Trent Boult

By ANI

CHENNAI: Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult on Thursday said the strength of his side has been to fight till the last ball of the match and the bowlers have been able to do that in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mumbai Indians has so far played four matches, winning two and losing two. The side’s middle-order has struggled in all four games and the side has failed to post a total in the range of 170-180 even once.

“I am sure the middle-order is not too pleased with how things have gone so far. I know the guys are hungry and desperate to put in a good performance in our last game in Chennai. Not an ideal start, we would like few more runs on the board. The strength of the side is fighting till the end and the bowlers have managed to do that. It should be an exciting game against Punjab, hopefully, we will get few more runs on the board,” said Boult while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

When asked about the challenge of bowling in the dew, Boult said: “It is definitely tricky when the ball gets wet like that. The other night was the worst it has been in terms of dew. In terms of being a foreign player, it is something we are not used to in New Zealand, but it is part and parcel here, as bowlers you need to be able to execute some kind of deliveries so that is a good challenge. Ideally, you want to see an even contest between bat and ball.”

“From a personal point of view, I just swing the ball around, but the surface and conditions here have not allowed that. But, that’s the beauty of coming to this part of the world, the challenge becomes to adapt to these kinds of conditions. I am enjoying the challenge, it has been great bowling with Bumrah and seeing how he operates. Yeah, it is a great challenge and I am looking to just improve my game,” he added.

Mumbai Indians will next take on Punjab Kings in the IPL on Friday here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and this would be Mumbai’s last game in Chennai.

“Punjab Kings’ batsmen are incredibly dangerous. I have bowled to KL Rahul a few times and I think he is one of the classiest batsmen in the world when he gets going. 100 per cent we need to be on our game as a bowling unit. Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss is a very experienced player, it is going to be a great challenge, we are coming off a defeat and we would be firing,” said Boult.

When asked about the form of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, Boult said: “I think it is very hard for me to talk from the batting point of view. They are key ingredients to our team, things have not gone to plan as yet. Wickets are hard here, they must be thinking about giving themselves some extra balls. Yeah, hopefully, we can take good advantage of the good starts we are getting.”