IPL 2002: It's Special To Chase And Win: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians, on Friday, crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets to continue their winning run in IPL 2020. With their fifth consecutive win and sixth overall, the defending champions also moved to the top of the points table.

Chasing a modest total of 149, Mumbai Indians chased down the total inside 17 overs. Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma gave the reigning IPL champions a solid start by adding 94 runs for the first wicket before the latter was sent back for 35 by Shivam Mavi.

Suryakumar Yadav failed to deliver but it did not hurt Mumbai Indians much as de Kock and Hardik Pandya took them over the line with ease. De Kock remained unbeaten on 78 while Hardik scored 21.

Earlier in the match, KKR recovered a disastrous start to post a fighting total of 148 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. Batting first, the two-time champions were off to a disastrous start as half of the side was back in the pavilion with just 65 runs on the board in the 11th over.

Pat Cummins then scored a fighting fifty while sharing an unbeaten 87-run stand with captain Eoin Morgan to rescue KKR and guide them to a decent total. For Mumbai Indians, Rahul Chahar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for just 18 off his four overs.

Rohit Sharma’s reaction:

Speaking at the end of the match, Rohit Sharma hailed the win as special and said that the victory would give the team ‘plenty of confidence’. He was all praise for the team’s clinical performance right from the start of the match till the end.

“It’s special to chase and win, gives us plenty of confidence. We didn’t chase a lot in the first half (of the tournament), think we were clinical with both bat and ball, the expected performance was there. I thought we turned up very well, right from the start. I believe a lot in match-ups, we have got success as a team (doing it) – understanding the match-ups is important but we need to be instinctive at times,” Rohit Sharma said.

The Mumbai Indians skipper further said he enjoys batting with his opening partner de Kock and concluded by stating that his team cannot afford to get carried away and take the foot off the pedal.

“I prefer batting with him (de Kock), he’s very straightforward, likes to take the bowler from the word go – but I usually like to access the situation. Will let him play the way he wants to, don’t want to put any pressure on him. This tournament is very funny, can’t take the foot off the pedal at any time, we have seen teams lose at times. The guys are very hungry, they haven’t played a lot over the last six months – be it Ishan or Hardik, they want to play and they want to win,” he said.

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Also Read: ‘Worth Every Paisa’: Twitter Lauds Pat Cummins For Fighting Fifty Against Mumbai Indians