IPL 2021: Balvinder Singh Sandhu on SRH collapse - It’s all in the mind

What happened at the M Chidambaram Stadium in the last two games held in Chennai was not unprecedented but unusualmdashteams choking after being in a comfortable positionWhat looked like a straightforward finish Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore ran out of fuel to complete the last mileChasing MIrsquos 152 on Tuesday KKR needed 31 runs off their last five overs with six wickets in hand but ended up losing by 10 runsBalvinder Singh Sandhu and Ramesh PowarSRH on Wednesday failed to get 42 runs from the last 30 deliveries despite having eight wickets in hand ultimately falling short by six runs Of the four games at Chennai only once did the team batting second successfully chase the target during the IPL14 opening clash where RCB beat MI by two wickets thanks to AB de Villiersrsquos 27ball 48Players in a hasteIndiarsquos 1983 World Cupper Balvinder Singh Sandhu felt bad shot selection and anxiety were the reasons for the teamsrsquo inability to close the game ldquoItrsquos all in the mind and that is why they are collapsing Itrsquos bad shot selection and the hurry to finish the game Instead of taking the game into the final over the teams want to win in the 18th or 19th over Itrsquos lack of mental preparedness that is affecting themrdquo Sandhu told midday on ThursdayKKR had all the firepower in Andre Russell 15ball 9 Dinesh Karthik 8 not out and Shakib Al Hasan 9 but still couldnrsquot win against MIDitto SRH who lost the fizz after RCBrsquos leftarm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed claimed the wickets of Jonny Bairstow 12 Manish Pandey 38 and Abdul Samad 0 in a single over Vijay Shankar Jason Holder and Rashid Khan could hardly repair that damageldquoIf you lose despite being in the driverrsquos seat it is just bad shot selection or decisions Anxiety is taking over them Anxiety can come to any playermdashnewcomer or experienced player The reputation is at stake in a pressure situation for the established players To live up to their reputation players can get anxious The batsmen are getting out due to bad shot selection and not due to some outstanding bowlingrdquo said Sandhu who has coached state teamslsquoWellpreparedrsquoFormer India womenrsquos coach Ramesh Powar said the mindset of MI and RCB did the trick ldquoMI and RCB look wellprepared as compared to other teams Itrsquos all about the mindset and selfbelief to win from any situation MI and RCB have a process in place Pressurehandling by MI and RCB bowlers are far better than the rest MI is an allcondition team It doesnrsquot matter where they are playing Mike Hesson RCBrsquos Director of Cricket Operations is managing the resources very well And they have a lot of current India players which is a big boostrdquo said the former India offspinner who recently had a stint as spin bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy Powar who coached Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title last month felt teams dependent on the home advantage will struggle with the IPL being played at neutral venues ldquoTeams like KKR and SRH are used to taking full advantage of home conditions whereas sides like MI and RCB have players for any surface Neutral venues is like tackling an outofsyllabus questionrdquo said PowarSandhu did not find anything wrong with the Chepauk track ldquoPitch conditions will not change in the last five overs These are not bad pitches by any meansrdquo heconcluded