"I was able to see belief in the Mumbai Indians" - Deep Dasgupta expects defending champions to utilize momentum

Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta expects the Mumbai Indians (MI) to rise with belief heading into the business end of IPL 2021. Dasgupta claimed that belief can be seen within the side given the way Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard finished their run chase against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in vintage fashion.

The middle-order duo shared a 45-run partnership in 3.5 overs to nudge the Mumbai Indians across the finish line in a nervy run chase. The win ended the defending IPL champions' three-game losing streak and ensured that they remained alive for a place in the IPL 2021 playoffs.

Dasgupta noted that MI's biggest strength across the last few editions was on display after a long time and the side should take a lot of confidence from this. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Dasgupta said:

"I was able to see belief in the Mumbai Indians' setup and it will increase as well. Their main strength over the last 2-3 editions has been the way in which Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have been finishing the innings, and that was on show again."

Hardik Pandya in particular has struggled with the bat during the ongoing edition of the IPL. The all-rounder could not cope with the slow surfaces in the first leg in India and the trend seemed to continue in the second leg as well. This knock, however, gives Pandya some much-needed respite ahead of the franchise's crucial encounters as well as the T20 World Cup.

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Suryakumar Yadav should take a lot of confidence from the way Pandya-Pollard finished the innings: Dasgupta

One of the biggest concerns for Mumbai Indians has been the performances of the middle order. The same set of batsmen who were arguably the biggest positives in their title-winning campaign in 2020, have been far from their best this time around.

Dasgupta feels that with the lower middle order seemingly back in rhythm, it should take pressure off Suryakumar Yadav's shoulders. He reckoned Yadav could take more time at the crease to settle down and play with confidence. Dasgupta added:

"They will be concerned with Suryakumar Yadav's form, not only the Mumbai Indians, but the Indian team as well. I think, this win for MI, and the way in which they won it courtesy of Pandya and Pollard should give Suryakumar Yadav confidence as he can now take more time to settle in the crease."

The franchise had to drop Ishan Kishan for Saurabh Tiwary, who played a vital hand. With Hardik Pandya also performing, the only gray area remaining is Suryakumar Yadav. The batsman was beaten all ends up by a googly from Ravi Bishnoi and was dismissed for a golden duck, adding to a string of concerning poor scores in recent days.