IPL 2023: 'We fought right to the end' — Mumbai Indians coach Boucher hails his team for reaching the playoffs

Mumbai Indians’ (MI) IPL 2023 campaign came to an end on Friday with a defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2. While GT progressed to the final against Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai who are undergoing a transition have had a remarkable season with the squad struggling with injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Mark Boucher, who is in his first season as Mumbai Indians coach, said that while they are disappointed with a defeat in Qualifier 2, reaching the playoffs was a “great achievement”.

“First of all, the experience has been fantastic, I have really enjoyed it,” Boucher said in the post-match press conference. “Got a good group of guys in the dressing room, the support staff is great as well, lots of experience. It’s tough, it’s a very tough competition. It takes a lot to win a game of cricket. There are a lot of good teams that you come up against and the results can go either way, so it’s quite a stressful competition. But to get to the playoffs is a great achievement. Obviously disappointed about tonight’s result but I think we fought right to the end.”

In Photos: All-round GT trounce MI to setup final against CSK

Talking about Qualifier 2, Boucher praised his team for putting up a fight in the 234-run chase despite experiencing a rocky start.

Reflection on Qualifier 2

Gujarat scored 233/3 batting first with Shubman Gill making 129 off 60 balls. In reply, Mumbai lost their first three wickets for 72 while Nehal Wadhera opened the batting instead of Ishan Kishan who could not bat due to concussion.

Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav stitched 52 runs together to steady the innings but their dismissals by the 15th over led to a batting collapse with MI getting bowled out on 171.

We fought for you, we played for you. Fell short, but full of gratitude for you, Paltan.