For Mumbai Indians’ Romario Shepard, clarity of mind and a no-holds-barred approach in the death overs are key as he helps the five-time IPL champions in Sunday’s IPL clash in Mumbai Defeated Delhi Capitals by 29 runs. The lanky Guyanese all-rounder switched on beast mode and smashed four sixes and two fours to score 32 runs in the final over against South Africa pacer Anrich Nortje. , achieving an unbeaten 39 games with just 10 goals. Led by Shepherd’s blitzkrieg, Mumbai registered maximum points and their first win of the IPL this season at the Wankhede Stadium.

“Everyone wants to bat, and before you start batting, get used to the situation. But whenever you get into the 17th inning, you have to keep a clear head because there is nothing holding you back,” Shepard said during the game. later told the media.

Shepard said hitting the ball with focus can lead to success.

“Whenever you’re in that role you become more dangerous and have to hit the ball because when you’re ‘looking at the ball to hit’ it’s a clearer view than having to tentatively look for the ball and hit the ball Mentality. Two,” he said.

“You’re playing a little hesitant there and maybe mistaking some pitches that you would normally hit.

“But when you are at the back and there are only 18 balls, you will only face about 7, 8 or 9 of them. You have to maximize and hit the ball as much as possible,” he added.

The Caribbean player said it could also fail, but that’s the nature of the finisher’s role.

“Especially in the closing game, we’re under a lot of pressure because everyone expects us to go in and score six points. Sometimes it falls off, sometimes it doesn’t. Like today it fell off, No. 1 It won’t come off in two days,” he added.

Sheppard said Mumbai are under huge pressure after three consecutive defeats and “all hands on deck” are working hard to turn things around.

“It’s an amazing feeling because three games, three losses, it kind of affects us a little bit. We’re a big team and there’s a lot of expectations placed on us. We don’t want to be four games down,” he said.

“This game is a game where everyone is working hard to win. We don’t have a specific goal in mind because when you set goals sometimes you go way off and you can fall short of what you want on the day ,” he added.

“When Rohit Sharma came off, the coach asked him what the total was and he thought anything over 200 was good because that was a good wicket,” Shepherd said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals assistant coach Praveen Amre defended his team, saying they have been battling injuries to some key players and said there could be changes in personnel and approach.

“The most crucial thing in this format is always those five overs. Yes, we have to give credit to Sheppard for the way he batted, he scored 32 runs in the last over and that too against world-class bowlers So. It was his day and the way he batted was unbelievable,” Amre said at the post-match press conference.

Amre said India bowler Mukesh Kumar is expected to be available in the next game, which will help Delhi address the issue of deaths due to Nothje constantly leaking runs.

“There is room for improvement. We have to bowl hard and our bowling department has to fire and only then can we win games in a row,” he said.

“We have to look for other options because it hasn’t worked out for us in the last three games. “Unfortunately, Mukesh is not fit for this game either. I hope he can be fit for the next game, And being able to come and play at death,” he added.

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