IPL 2022 | Mahela Jaywardene explains why Suryakumar Yadav was sent at 5 against PBKS

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has explained the management's thought process to send Suryakumar Yadav at number five in their recent encounter against the Punjab Kings.

Speaking to the media following yet another challenging defeat for the five-time champions, Jayawardene said that with Mumbai losing both their openers in the powerplay, the management didn't want to expose Suryakumar to seam and swing that the bowlers were generating at the time.

With MI chasing a huge total, Jayawardene said that the management wanted to take the game deep, with Surya playing the role of a finisher at the heart of it. 

"It was to try and take the game deep because we were playing with six batters. And there’s no better person than Surya to finish a game off. And in that situation, in the powerplay, they would swing the ball a bit and all that. So I didn’t want Surya to go into that situation and not be able to play his natural game also. It was just a tactical thing,” said Mahela Jayawardene.

Following the dismissal of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, the two young guns in Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma took the mantle to spearhead the run-chase.

The duo, especially Brevis, launched a stunning counterattack against PBKS bowlers to hammer 86 runs for the third wicket.

Brevis smashed a 24-ball 49, which included four consecutive sixes off Rahul Chahar, while Varma managed a 20-ball 36.

As expected, Jayawardene was full of praise for the teenage duo.

"The two young guys, we know what they are capable of. So given them a bit of freedom to go and control that situation, so that Polly and Surya can chase that. That was the initial thinking. It’s a call that we will take depending on how we’ve set up tactically against certain oppositions and stuff like that,” he said.

Surya played his role to perfection, hammering 43 off just 30 deliveries with the help of 1 four and 4 sixes. Unfortunately, it didn't prove to be enough as MI eventually fell short by 12 runs.

Now Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians are lined up to play Lucknow Super Giants at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday (April 16).