Mumbai Indians opener Parthiv Patel gave credit to top order batsman Ambati Rayudu and bowlers for his side's 25-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match here.
Parthiv's 58-ball 81 and Rayudu's 37-ball 65 were followed by a disciplined bowling effort by the likes of Jasprit Bumrah (3/26), Tim Southee (2/28) and Mitchell McClenaghan (2/32) as Mumbai earned their third win in the tournament.
Invited to bat, Mumbai Indians rode on Patel's 81, his best in IPL, and Ambati Rayudu's knock to post 189 for 6 against Kings XI Punjab.
Parthiv heaped praise on Rayudu for the way he batted, taking pressure off him after Mumbai had lost their skipper Rohit Sharma in the first over itself for a duck.
"I think having an in-form batsman with you makes your job easier. I have had five innings and could not get going in first five games. To have an in-form batsman with you, you can take a bit of pressure off yourself. Rayudu did exactly that," he said at the post-match press conference.
"Every time we felt we need to get going, he used to smash a six or a boundary. That actually helped me a lot. And we were talking about getting to 180 because we felt the wicket was on a drier side and 180 would be a good score," Parthiv said about the partnership with Rayudu for the third wicket which yielded 137 runs.
Asked how does it help to have bowlers like Bumrah in the side, Parthiv said, "It always helps to have good bowlers in your side.
"We have seen in lot of teams that no matter how many runs you score (if bowlers dont come good), all those runs count for nothing. Mitch (Mitchell McClenaghan) is a purple cap holder and Jassi (Bumrah) is in fantastic form.
"You might have seen him just how he has bowled from Asia Cup or from Australia tour. He is with me since Ranji Trophy days. He has worked hard throughout the off season and I am very happy that whatever work he has put in he is getting the result," said Parthiv.
Asked why he went particularly after KXIP's Mitchell
Johnson, Parthiv, said, "I like the pace on the ball, he bowls quick and it is easier to use his pace. Last time when I was here, the same question had come because then I had smashed Johnson for 28 runs in one over. But yes, when you are bowling so fast and not accurate you can go for runs."
Parthiv also said that getting one lease of life early on and having a bit of luck always helps.
"In a T20 game it is very important to have a bit of luck on your side as well. You take a lot of chances in first six overs and even after that. It is good to have luck on your side, sometimes," he said.
Asked about the initial dot balls, he said, "I thought the wicket was slow and a bit dry to start with. In last few games, we have lost too many wickets early on, we had to make sure that we did not lose too many wickets. If we had wickets at the end, we could score runs, so that was the plan. There was not plan of playing so many dot balls. I was trying, but I could not get going then.
