Unity is our team strength - Sanath Jayasuriya | Mauler's Notes IPL 2010

 

- SANATH JAYASURIYA

OUR seven-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers on Saturday night was obviously disappointing, but we just have to dust ourselves down, learn what we can from the loss and focus on our next challenge: a very tough game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.

The beauty about this Mumbai Indians team is that we are very close. It’s like a family this year with everyone united. We are all supporting each other and we’re all focused on the team’s goals. That is very important when you are playing in a competition like this.

The big turning point in our defeat to the Royal Challengers was that disastrous 11th over of the innings when we lost Rayudu, Sachin and Bravo, slumping from 74 for three to 76 for six. We’d also struggled a little bit at the start of the innings with me departing early. So it was a shame that I could not stay with Sachin and build a big opening partnership.

Sanath knows what is good for him - Robin Singh

The poor form of Sanath Jayasuriya notwithstanding, Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh today threw his weight behind the Sri Lankan and said he would soon bounce back and rediscover the lost rythm.

"Sanath is a seasoned cricketer and he knows what is best for him. It is a question of getting him motivated to play his role," Singh told reporters ahead of encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders here tomorrow.

The Matara marauder has got out cheaply scoring 23, 7 and 2 in his team's previous three matches.

Terming the shot selection of the batsmen against Royal Challengers Bangalore as bad, Singh hoped that the team will be more careful with the choice of their shots in the next game.

"I think we were just bad. I hope the guys will be more focused and probably be more careful about shot selection," he said.
Asked whether the team had any plans for Chris Gayle, Singh said, "Not really thought about it, we are just focusing on what we want to do and what team we want to play."

"(It) hardly matters (how big a hitter Gayle is). There are many big hitters in the tournament," he added.

(Source)