In an interesting exchange, Mumbai Indians’s long-standing bowling coach until last year, Shane Bond, went to Rajasthan Royals this year while Lasith Malinga, who was with RR for 2022 and 2023, is now with MI in the same capacity.
Bond’s knowledge of MI’s players helped RR defeat them by six wickets on Monday at the Wankhede, chasing down 126 in just 15.3 overs. Riyan Parag remained unbeaten on 54, his second consecutive fifty, and took his tally to 181 runs in three innings.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya congratulates RR’s Riyan Parag on Monday
Bond, 48, said after RR’s third straight win: “When you spend so much time with certain players, it obviously helps. It was fun being on the other side. A couple of dismissals gave me a lot of satisfaction. Although MI have had tough starts, history suggests Mumbai always come back.”
Also Read: Fans and frolic at Churchgate
On what changed for the better for Parag, Bond said: “Riyan started so young, at 17, and played at one of the toughest spots in the batting line-up at No. 6. You look at the characters around the IPL who finish games, they are experienced guys, high quality players, who have played international cricket, like the Tim Davids or the David Millers. Riyan is still a very young man, and has a wealth of experience behind him now. He had an outstanding domestic season batting up the order. He reminds me of Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], who came to Mumbai Indians a few years ago. Riyan is extremely talented and more mature. We are lucky to be getting the best of him now.”
Shane Bond
Bond added it was a good toss to win for RR. “If MI managed to pull out another 30 runs, it would have been a tough chase. We adapted to the conditions pretty well and got off to a great start,” the former New Zealand pacer said.
Bond explained why leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal doesn’t feature in the Indian T20 team of late. “That speaks more about the quality of spinners around him in Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. Kuldeep Yadav has been awesome for India. So does Axar Patel. The competition is pretty tough. One of the real challenges for any bowler coming to this tournament is to forget there is a World Cup and you start bowling to get into a World Cup team. If your team is successful and you are in the winning team, then selections and rewards come from there,” he said.
