Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene was caught on camera giving non-stop instructions during the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The video of Jayawardene’s animated signals to Bumrah from beyond the boundary line quickly went viral on social media.
Jayawardene took over as Mumbai Indians' coach from Mark Boucher but couldn’t replicate his previous success. For the first time, the Mumbai Indians failed to defend a total above 200. Punjab chased down 204 runs with five wickets to spare at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, June 1.
During the 16th over of PBKS' innings, Mahela Jayawardene was seen animatedly giving fielding instructions from beyond the boundary line. He adjusted field settings for left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar, which drew mixed reactions. Ashwani had taken a wicket but also conceded 16 runs in that over.
Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah, who was fielding close to the boundary, appeared amused by Jayawardene's constant signalling to Hardik Pandya. The star pacer seemed to ignore the instructions and even glanced toward the former Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma, who was sitting in the dugout, for help.
Watch the video of the same posted by a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) below:
Sums up Mumbai Indians’ leadership and captaincy. pic.twitter.com/Wc2zkGdHR6
— ??the_old_guy (@theoldguy20) June 1, 2025There Could Have Been a Lot of Ifs and Buts - Mahela Jayawardene
In the post-match press conference, Mahela Jayawardene said that Punjab Kings outperformed Mumbai Indians. He admitted that Mumbai didn’t play a flawless game and paid the price for it.
"There could have been a lot of ifs and buts, but I think we didn't play a perfect game and we paid for it. It was a good campaign for us, the way we started and how we regrouped as a team and played some really, really good cricket," Jayawardene said.
"We had our opportunities getting to the playoffs, and we had a really good game first up. Even today, I thought we played some good cricket, except for Kings playing better cricket than us, especially with the bat," he added.
Jasprit Bumrah Was Trying to Get Those Wickets - Mahela Jayawardene
Jasprit Bumrah had a rare off day, conceding 40 runs. However, Mahela Jayawardene didn’t place the blame on him, adding that taking wickets was a collective effort. Jayawardene stated that either the bowlers would take wickets or the batsmen would capitalize.
"I thought the others, like especially Ashwini bowled really well today. Mitch [Santner] bowled well, and then Hardik as well. So it wasn't just about Bumrah. He was trying to get those wickets up from and especially the PowerPlay. Josh [Inglis] batted well. Overs 3-4, executed well, and it was a battle between that. Either you might get a wicket or them taking that advantage, and they took the advantage," added Jayawardene.
After losing five of their first six games, the team looked set for another disappointing season. However, they mounted a remarkable comeback. Winning six matches in a row, and a few more crucial ones after that, they lived up to expectations to secure a Playoff spot.
Also read: Watch: Hardik Pandya suffers total breakdown after Qualifier 2 loss, Bumrah, Suryakumar get concerned
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