MI play well under pressure: Yadav - Mumbai Indians

Not to forget, they beat us at the Wankhede earlier this season.“Delhi have been playing some really good cricket.

Suryakumar Yadav has had a dream season. With 500 runs in 13 innings, he tops the batting charts for Mumbai Indians. His tally puts him on No. 7 this season. And the best part is that he has delivered as an opener, a role he was hitherto unfamiliar with.

Come Sunday, MI would want Yadav to continue his great form in our final league engagement against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla. It’s a must-win encounter. If we don’t defeat DD, then we will says goodbye to our playoff hopes. Needless to say, it’s a high-pressure game.

Yadav, though, doesn’t let any of the pressure get to him. Nor are his teammates. “No, I don’t think we are thinking about all that. We are thinking about what we are doing right rather than the Net Run Rate. We are focused on doing right all the small things that will help us get those two points,” the Mumbaikar said at the pre-match press conference in the Capital on Saturday.

Yadav spoke at length about MI’s up-and-down season, highlighting the fact that the team has played good cricket only to fall short in some matches. “I think we have been playing good cricket since the first match. We didn’t start well even though we were playing good cricket. But coming into the latter part of the tournament, we started gaining momentum. As you’ve seen, winning the last home game and getting those two crucial points was very important for us. Obviously these two points will be important for us, but we will just treat it as another game,” he said.

Yadav even got a little philosophical when he said MI perform better when pushed to the wall. “This game teaches you many things. And whenever we are put in under pressure, we play good cricket. This game is all about handling pressure; if there is no pressure, then there is no fun. It brings some challenges and responsibilities as well. It is very important to stay calm in a high-pressure game,” he explained.

DD will be no pushovers. Yes, they are the bottom-placed team. But anybody who saw them beat Chennai Super Kings would be pardoned if they thought otherwise. And Yadav is aware of the danger the host team can pose. Not to forget, they beat us at the Wankhede earlier this season.

“Delhi have been playing some really good cricket. I think it will be important to give that first punch. The way we started the game in Mumbai, we will try and do the same thing here. We won’t be doing anything different here and complicate things. We will try and keep things simple and see what happens tomorrow,” Yadav said.

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