Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 30 (ANI): Following the Mumbai Indians' (MI) defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), MI batting coach backed struggling pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to bounce back and urged the fans to cut him some slack amid his poor season with the ball.

Mathematically, while MI is still in the tournament, things only continue to get worse for them, one, because they have slipped to their sixth loss of the tournament, and second, because Bumrah is having a nightmarish tournament with the ball. In eight matches this season, he has taken just two wickets, averaging 132.00, having an economy rate of 8.80, and a strike rate of 90.0. Statistically, this is Bumrah's poorest IPL so far.

During a defence of 244 runs against SRH, Bumrah bled runs, leaking 54 runs in four overs and getting smashed for five sixes in the match, including an audacious no-look six by uncapped Punjab domestic hitter, Salil Arora.

Speaking about Bumrah in the post-match presser, Pollard expressed the importance of remembering all the positive things the superstar bowler has done for MI and India when he needs his fans more than ever, pointing out that as a player, he is entitled to make mistakes and have a bad patch.

'When a cricketer is not doing well, we look at every single aspect as to why he is not doing well. It is no different for Bumrah. He has done it for years. As a player and a human being, he is entitled to make mistakes, not have a good day, a good game, a good season or a good couple of months. We need to sometimes remember what good he has done. Yes, presently he has not been upto the mark, but he has been the number one for MI and India for a good period of time,' he said.

'Sometimes, you cut these players some slack. We are unfortunate to be in the public eye, when we do bad, it gets highlighted. When someone is doing a regular job, and he sends a wrong email, they have the opportunity to edit the words and all the stuff. He is going to bounce back with greater heights, take wickets and fans will sing 'Bumrah, Bumrah' not only for MI but for India too,' the former MI hitter added.

Pollard was also extremely candid about his side's inability to have put together a 'complete game of cricket' so far. But the MI batting coach has pointed out that the dressing room is willing to put up a fight and has not yet accepted defeat, despite having lost six of their eight games. With six more games to go, MI still have the opportunity to get a maximum of 16 points if they go on a winning spree from their next game.

'It has not been as consistent as we would have hoped. The results are showing. It is something you cannot shy away from. Collectively, we have not been good enough.' We just need to be collectively better as a unit. That is as much as you can ask. You can ask them to execute better in different areas of the game,' he said.

'But we need to play that complete game of cricket to win a match. It is getting difficult with the way cricket is doing, but what I can safely say, in the dressing room, the guys are wanting to fight.'

'We have lost games, but we have not accepted defeat. When I said defeat, I didn't want the headlines to be that the Mumbai Indians have been defeated, because mathematically and from a points perspective, we are still very much in the tournament. Yes, we have accepted losses because we lost the last couple of games, but we have not accepted defeat because we are not out of the tournament. We are still looking to go back and see what we can do and how far we can go in this tournament,' he concluded.

Coming to the match, MI opted to bat first, with Will Jacks (46 in 22 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ryan Rickelton putting on an explosive 93-run stand. Rickelton stayed till the end, bringing his maiden IPL century and the fastest one for MI, stitching valuable partnerships with Naman Dhir (22 in 17 balls, with three fours) and skipper Hardik Pandya (31 in 15 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Ricketon carried his bat for 123* in 55 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes, making sure that MI reached 243/5.

Praful Hinge (2/54) and Eshan Malinga (1/29) were standout bowlers for SRH.

During the chase, Travis Head roared back to form, scoring a 30-ball 76 (with four boundaries and eight sixes) and stitching a 129-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (45 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes). Despite slipping to 133/3 in 9.4 overs courtesy of Allah Ghazanfar (2/51) and Hardik Pandya (1/39), SRH chased down the target with Heinrich Klaasen (65* in 30 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) laying down the anchor with Nitish Kumar Reddy (21 in 17 balls, with three fours) for a 80-run stand and Salil Arora (30* in 10 balls, with two fours and three sixes) playing a fiery cameo.

SRH made light work of the chase with six wickets and eight balls in hand, registering their sixth win of the season in nine matches and staying at third position with 12 points. MI is at the ninth spot and desperately needs to win its remaining matches to stay in the playoff hunt. (ANI)