IPL 2020: Rohit Sharma Rues Failure Of Mumbai Indians Batsmen After Loss Against CSK
Published - 20 Sep 2020, 01:41 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:34 AM

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has rued the failure of his team’s middle-order batsmen after the defending champions lost to Chennai Super Kings in the first match of IPL 2020. CSK thrashed the reigning IPL champions by five wickets to start their tournament on a strong note.
Asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians made a strong start with the bat as Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock came out all guns blazing. They added 45 runs in just four overs before departing in quick succession. From thereon, the four-time champions lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually ended up on 162 for 9.
Their performance in the death overs was quite poor as they managed to collect just 26 runs from the last four overs with the likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard failing to deliver. In reply, CSK chased down the total with four balls remaining.

CSK started on a poor note as they lost both their openers for just six runs. However, a 115-run stand between Ambati Rayudu (71) and Faf du Plessis (58*) helped them recover and start the tournament with a win.
Speaking at the end of the game, Rohit Sharma rued that none of the Mumbai Indians batsmen managed to carry on for the team after getting the starts. He pointed out how the team did well in the first ten overs before losing its way. At the same time, the four-time IPL winning captain gave credit to CSK bowlers too for their fine comeback.
“None of our batsmen carried on for us, like du Plessis and Rayudu did for CSK. I think we were 85 in the first 10 overs. Credit to the CSK bowlers, they bowled well at the end to pull back things. Something for us to learn. Still early days. We all want to start really well, it’s crucial in this tournament where momentum is important. Few things for us to learn from this game, we did make few mistakes,” Rohit Sharma said.
“Hopefully we’ll rectify those and come out smarter in the next game,” he added.