"We say this team's bowling is their weakness but the batting has actually disappointed" - Harbhajan Singh on Mumbai Indians' loss to CSK

Harbhajan Singh feels the Mumbai Indians' (MI) famed batting has let them down in their first two games of IPL 2023.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) restricted Rohit Sharma and Co. to 157/8 after asking them to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 8. MS Dhoni's side then chased down the target with seven wickets and 11 deliveries to spare to hand MI their second defeat in as many games.

During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about his thoughts on the Mumbai Indians' loss, to which he responded:

"We say this team's bowling is their weakness but the batting has actually disappointed if we analyze it properly. The batters will have to score runs, then only your bowlers will come into the game."

The former Mumbai Indians player added that their conservative batting approach was unbecoming of the most successful team in the IPL, saying:

"They are not playing freely. A big team is one which plays freely. It didn't seem that a five-time champion team would play this sort of cricket. They have big names in batting but they have disappointed in both the matches."

The Mumbai Indians lost four wickets for just 12 runs when they were comfortably placed at 64/1 after 6.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner picked up two wickets apiece in that period to give CSK the upper hand.

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"Tim David was there but he only knows how to play big shots" - Harbhajan Singh on Mumbai Indians' batting collapse

Tim David scored 31 runs off 22 balls. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While praising Tim David for striking a few lusty blows, Harbhajan Singh pointed out that the big-hitter, unlike Tilak Varma, is not adept at placing the ball into gaps, elaborating:

"Tilak Varma was definitely the hero in the first match but once Tilak Varma got out today, it seemed no one had the awareness. Tim David was there but he only knows how to play big shots, he doesn't know how to take the game forward. The singles and doubles that Tilak took were good."

Sunil Gavaskar added that the Mumbai Indians cannot rely solely on Rohit Sharma and that the likes of Cameron Green and Ishan Kishan need to play substantial knocks, stating:

"There are players like Cameron Green who played one or two innings when he came here last year and based on that he was picked. He will have to perform like that. Rohit Sharma will not score runs in every match. So the youngsters like Cameron Green and Ishan Kishan will have to score 70-90 runs and even a century if possible."

Kishan scored a 21-ball 32 and was caught at long-on while trying to hit a six off Jadeja's bowling. The left-arm spinner got rid of Green as well, taking a brilliant return catch when the Australian all-rounder smashed the ball straight back at him.