Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond sees some positives heading into the 2023 IPL season, with several of his fast bowlers bowling incisive spells despite the fact that the five-time champions’ campaign in the tournament ended on a low note this year.

The performance of left-arm Australian pacer Daniel Sams, who took three wickets for 16 runs against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday, impressed the former New Zealand pace bowler. Mumbai Indians chased down the target in the 15th over for the loss of five wickets.

Bond admitted that it took some time for the bowlers to settle down, but he added that the outcome had become clearer in the last few games, which would help the team in future tournaments.

“As a bowling unit, we have been better for 4-5 games. They (pace bowlers) were understanding their roles and the last few games, we have been more aggressive, we have bowled more short balls. At the same time, we have also been calm in tough situations,” felt Bond.

“We have had consistent performances now, we have played well earlier as well but a few bad overs had knocked us out of games. That has not happened recently, so that’s a big improvement,” he added.

Speaking of Sams’ spell, who had a difficult start to the season, Bond revealed that the bowler had admitted to him that he was feeling downcast before finally turning it around in the last couple of games.

“I have known Dan for a long time, so we have a close working relationship. He would admit it was disappointing early in the season but he worked really hard. Now he is taking key wickets for us up top, that over against GT was unbelievable as well. It’s great to see a player get a run of performances, he is a quality player and he is getting better and better,” said Bond.

Speaking of Sams’ spell, who had a difficult start to the season, Bond revealed that the bowler had admitted to him that he was feeling downcast before finally turning it around in the last couple of games.

“We did not just send him up to shield our batters against the swing, we wanted Dan to show his talent with the bat. We know he can do that role,” he said.

Bond was also full of praise for the in-form Bumrah and young players like Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya Singh, who have shone with the ball in their limited opportunities.

“I love to talk about Boom (Bumrah), he is a wonderful player. He often doesn’t get wickets that he deserves sometimes, that 5/10 vs KKR could have happened on a lot of other days. It’s nice to see him get some rewards. Hrithik is a confident character, he has got some good skills and he has been bowling well, it’s the same with Kartikeya. It’s nice to see these young spinners bowling well,” concluded Bond.

(Inputs from IANS)