GUWAHATI: Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted his side was blown off course by a blistering onslaught from Rajasthan Royals openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the bowlers missed their lines and lengths on a night when even Jasprit Bumrah "probably missed the length by a little bit".
Mumbai Indians suffered a 27-run defeat in a rain-curtailed IPL clash as Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi lit up the night with a blistering display that powered Rajasthan Royals to 150 for 3 in 11 overs before their bowlers tightened the screws to restrict Mumbai Indians to 123 for 9 on Tuesday night.
This was MI's second loss after starting the season with a win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
"We were not good enough, and that's what we have to work on. I think we had some plans, but...we never executed those plans the way we wanted. These guys are batting really well. We knew the danger, especially when rain curtailed (the match), and you have the license to go up front.
"We needed to make sure that first four, five overs were crucial for us. And, yeah, I think we missed our lengths, we missed our lines, and they played really, really well," said the former Sri Lankan batter.
He added that even a bowler of Bumrah's calibre had to struggle against the onslaught of the two RR openers, who together scored a blazing 80 runs in the first five overs, with Jaiswal making an unbeaten 77 off 32 balls and Sooryavanshi 39 off 14.
"I think we all knew his (Sooryavanshi's) great talent from the way he went about last year. We managed to control him last season. And every match, it's a challenge.
"Bumrah probably missed the length by a little bit, and he was ready for this. So, yeah, it'll be fascinating to see how he evolves. But definitely, you know, he really took our bowlers down," added Jayawardene.
However, much of RR's total came from Jaiswal's batting, and Jayawardene said that it was the batter who truly took the game away.
"Don't forget that Jaiswal was the key... the way he batted. The first three overs, he took it on. He played some really good cricketing shots, and he batted through the innings for them."
Jayawardene felt that his side, despite having the capability, couldn't build a match-winning partnership, as the loss of early wickets halted their momentum.
"We just needed a couple of partnerships. We lost a few early wickets, and we lost momentum.
"If you look at the end, it was four sixes was the difference, so it was four hits for us, and we just couldn't find that, and that's without us getting into a rhythm, and maybe one or two batsmen really getting a quick 30 or a 40 in that top. So, we never thought that it was out of our reach."
He said the team will have to regroup, make adjustments, and plan their next steps.
"We just have to sit down and see where we need to improve. I mean, we know what we need to do, but going out there and having that belief, confidence, the guys getting together, doing that. We have to regroup and work hard on what we need to do."