Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 31 (ANI): Following his side’s move to Qualifier two after a win over Gujarat Titans (GT), Mumbai Indians (MI) star batter Rohit Sharma said that he wished he could have scored more half-centuries in the season.
The ‘Hitman’ delivered yet another big match performance for MI, helping them down GT by 20 runs in a high-scoring eliminator at Mullanpur on Friday, booking a spot with Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a spot in the IPL final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Speaking after the match, Rohit acknowledged his batting performance and talked about the role luck and catch drops played in it and how he made the most of it. He won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his knock.
“I have only four fifties. Would have loved to score more fifties. Good day for us as a team. I do understand the importance of playing this Eliminator, going through this, and taking the next step forward. Really proud of a complete team effort. When I play the game, I try to do my best, keeping everything aside. Making sure I can do the job for the team. I had to make the most of the luck. I am glad I could do that. Get the team into a good position,” said Rohit.
Now in 14 games, Rohit has scored 410 runs at an average of 31.53, with four half-centuries and a strike rate of 150.18. His best score this season is 81. He is MI’s second-best batter after Suryakumar Yadav (673 runs in 15 innings with five fifties).
He also admitted that with dew coming in the second innings, it was going to get more challenging, but the bowlers held their nerves well.
“To be honest, I have played those shots before in the tournament and found fielders. Somewhere down the line, you have got to be lucky, and today was that day for me. I got lucky as those catches were dropped. But even after that, you got to play. I was focusing on keeping the momentum and tempo going. It was a good bowling effort. Jonny (Bairstow), I have watched him over the years from the other side. We know the quality he has. A lot of experience playing in this format. Never looked like he was playing the first game. We got the start and capitalised on it,” he concluded while talking about his batting and the team’s performance.
Coming to the match, MI won the toss and elected to bat first. They started off with a bang, with Jonny Bairstow (47 in 22 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rohit Sharma taking on pacers really well. Rohit went on to score his third fifty in IPL knockouts, making 81 in just 50 balls, with nine fours and four sixes. He also completed his 7,000 IPL runs, becoming the second batter to do so.
Fine cameos from Suryakumar Yadav (33 in 20 balls, with a four and three sixes), Tilak Varma (25 in 11 balls, with three sixes) and Hardik Pandya (22* in nine balls, with three sixes) took MI to 228/5.
Sai Kishore (2/42) and Prasidh Krishna (2/53) were the top bowlers for GT.
In the run chase, GT lost skipper Shubman Gill early. However, Sai Sudharsan (80 in 49 balls, with 10 fours and a six) stitched half-century partnerships with Kusal Mendis (20 in 10 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Washington Sundar (48 in 24 balls, with five fours and three sixes), keeping GT ahead of the required rate. However, some fine death bowling prevented them from winning as MI restricted GT to 208/6 in 20 overs.
Trent Boult (2/56) was the top bowler for MI. Jasprit Bumrah, Richard Gleeson, Ashwani Kumar and Mitchell Santner got one each.
Now, MI has booked a Qualifier two clash with Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a chance at the IPL final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) while GT has been eliminated. (ANI)
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