Zaheer Khan is refusing to push the panic button but insisted Mumbai Indians must work on their batting, after the defending Indian Premier League champions suffered a second successive defeat.
They lost by seven wickets after registering a limp 115-9 against Royal Challengers Bangalore yesterday.
The franchise had lost the tournament opener to Kolkata Knight Riders on the back of a similar poor batting performance mustering just 122-7, chasing 164.
“It is still early days in the tournament. We still have time to regroup, and kick on in terms of batting,” said paceman Khan.
“It is pretty obvious that there are little things we need to work on in terms of batting.
“We were pretty much in today’s game. The one partnership between [AB] De Villers and [Parthiv] Patel was very crucial. If we had taken one more wicket in the middle, the game could have been different.”
For Bangalore, a controlled 99- run partnership between De Villiers and Patel saw them home after captain Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Nic Maddinson had all gone cheaply.
Patel said it was a pleasure teaming up with South Africa superstar De Villiers.
“Having so many great players in the side makes my job easier,” he said.
“Today, we had to give ourselves a bit of time as it was not that easy after losing some early wickets. Our bowlers did a good job, meaning we did not have to chase a big target. I took singles and AB took on the bowlers, then we swapped around.
“It was good to play with him.”
The result means Daniel Vettori has made a dream start to life as the Bangalore coach, with wins in both his opening games. Patel believed the franchise should fear no-one in the campaign ahead.
“All the eight teams are quite balanced,” he said. “But Mumbai were coming out of losing the first game while we had won.
“We are not worried about what the opposition have to offer, as we know what kind of side we have. If we can play to our strengths, I am sure we can beat any side in this competition.”
