IPL 2018: I Think We are Still Alive in the Tournament - Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians kept their hopes alive in Vivo IPL 11 by registering a convincing victory in the end by six wickets with an over to spare against Kings XI Punjab.

It was a brilliant unbeaten knock of 31 off 12 deliveries which eventually helped Mumbai chase down the total of 175 on the final delivery of the 19^th over. Suryakumar Yadav was the top scorer for Mumbai with a brilliant 57 off 42 balls.

Early in the day, it was a well-composed half-century by Chris Gayle which propelled Punjab to a score 174 in their allotted 20 overs. Marcus Stoinis played a brilliant cameo in the end which was decisive in helping Punjab get to the total. The last over of Hardik Pandya produced 22 runs which however, didn’t prove to be costly in the end.

Yet again, Mumbai Indians skipper, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul again began in a rollicking fashion. KL Rahul struck some gorgeous shots to begin with. The extra cover six of the bowling was Jasprit Bumrah was quite spectacular. After a 54 runs partnership, Rahul was eventually dismissed by Mayank Markande. It was a rather loose delivery, but Rahul found JP Duminy to perfection in the deep.

Ben Cutting dismissed Chris Gayle in his very first over. The southpaw wasn’t at his usual best and ended up scoring 50 off 40 deliveries.

Karun Nair scored a quickfire 23 off 12 deliveries which included some exceptional shots. Marcus Stoinis provided the much-needed late impetus with a score of 29 off 15. The innings was studded with a couple of fours and couple of sixes each.

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Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers. Despite bagging just a solitary wicket, he was very economical giving away only 19 runs. Markande and Ben Cutting also bagged a wicket each.

McClenaghan and Hardik Pandya bagged a wicket each. However, Hardik went for 22 runs in the final over.

Mumbai required a win quite badly. Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis began well. Surya, in particular, continued his rich vein of form. He smashed some excellent shots in what was another spectacular innings from the Mumbaikar.

The run rate wasn’t too great, but the wickets needed to be there. Mujeeb-ur Rahman dismissed Evin Lewis in his very first over.

Surya, on the other hand, kept playing some impressive shots. He scored 57 off just 42 deliveries which were studded with six fours and three sixes. Ishan Kishan struck a couple of lusty blows but was dismissed after making 25 off just 18. He was castled by Mujeeb, as the southpaw kept dancing down the track and missed the ball completely.

Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya were the standout performers in the end, as the duo shared a brilliant 46 runs stand in just 21 deliveries. Krunal Pandya was at his prolific best and started off with a fluent flick. It was a brilliant shot, and he just gained momentum from there on. Rohit was superb too and smashed Mujeeeb for a couple of sixes in the 18^th over when it mattered the most.

The win will be a huge morale booster for Mumbai. They needed the win badly to keep their hopes alive, and they did that to perfection. They will take confidence and look to win the next two upcoming games both against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Here is what Rohit Sharma, the winning skipper said at the post-match presentation,

“I think we are still alive. Good performance tonight. Much needed for us. We needed everyone to come and put a collective effort. We started well with the ball. To restrict their batting unit on this pitch at this ground was a great effort. And to chase it down the way we did was really nice. Wasn’t really easy early on but we knew that we had a lot of depth in our batting. (On him batting lower down the order) The way we went about our chase in the first 10 overs, I felt we needed momentum. So, Hardik, the way he plays, was suited to do that. Hence, I held myself back for the end and having played here before, I know what kind of shots work.

Always feels good when you finish off the chase. (On constantly leaking runs in the 20th over) That is something which is a pattern for us. We’ve been giving too many at the death but that’s how the game goes. I had to bring Jasprit in the 19th over with two set batsmen and if he struck, it would have made things easier for Hardik. Plus the longer boundaries would have helped Hardik in the 20th over. That’s how it goes sometimes.

I have to use Jasprit really well and the others around him are doing the job for us. It’s about being really smart with the ball. (On the road ahead) It is important not to look too far ahead, need to focus on one game at a time and to think how we can come out on top in that game. Playoffs are important but we need to win games to reach there.

Big challenge for us to continue this momentum from hereon. In the past, we have won games and then gone on to lose a few games. Don’t want that to happen again. Today was a perfect night for us, we did exactly what we spoke of. Life is easy for the captain when the said plans are executed.”

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