IPL 2016: Parthiv Patel praises Ambati Rayudu after Mumbai Indians' victory

Mumbai Indians batsman Parthiv Patel credited his teammate Ambati Rayudu and the bowlers for the side's 25-run win over Kings XI Punjab at Mohali, at the post-match press conference on Monday.

Parthiv said that the right-handed batsman took the pressure off him. "I think having an in-form batsman with you makes your job easier. I have had five innings and could not get going in first five games. To have an in-form batsman with you, you can take a bit of pressure off yourself. Rayudu did exactly that.

"Every time we felt we need to get going, he used to smash a six or a boundary. That actually helped me a lot. And we were talking about getting to 180 because we felt the wicket was on a drier side and 180 would be a good score," said the left-handed opener.

Parthiv made a blistering 81 off 58 balls and posted a 137-run second wicket partnership with Rayudu, who contributed 65 off 37 balls to the total. After skipper Rohit Sharma walked back for a duck, the duo helped in posting 189 runs on the board for the hosts to chase. Smashing 10 boundaries and two sixes, Parthiv also made his highest score in the IPL.

Jasprit Bumrah (3/26), Mitchell McClenaghen (2/32) and Tim Southee (2/28) made an effective contribution with the ball, destructing KXIP's batting line-up and restricting them for 164/7 in 20 overs.

Parthiv also heaped praises on MI's bowlers. "It always helps to have good bowlers in your side. We have seen in lot of teams that no matter how many runs you score (if bowlers don't come good), all those runs count for nothing. Mitch (McClenaghan) is a purple cap holder and Jassi (Bumrah) is in fantastic form.

"You might have seen him just how he has bowled from Asia Cup or from Australia tour. He is with me since Ranji Trophy days. He has worked hard throughout the off season and I am very happy that whatever work he has put in he is getting the result."

Parthiv went after KXIP pacer Mitchell Johnson and slammed the maximum number of boundaries during his spell, before falling for his bouncer in the 19th over. "I like the pace on the ball, he (Johnson) bowls quick and it is easier to use his pace. Last time when I was here, the same question had come because then I had smashed Johnson for 28 runs in one over. But yes, when you are bowling so fast and not accurate you can go for runs," he said.

Asked about his slow start in the initial overs, he said, "I thought the wicket was slow and a bit dry to start with. In last few games, we have lost too many wickets early on, we had to make sure that we did not lose too many wickets. If we had wickets at the end, we could score runs, so that was the plan.

"There was no plan of playing so many dot balls. I was trying, but I could not get going then."