IPL 2021: We Didn't Get Enough Towards The End; Didn't Bowl Well At The Start - Rohit Sharma Talks About Loss vs KKR

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma lamented two key aspects on which his side failed, resulting in a heavy 7-wicket loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

After being 56/0 at the end of the powerplay, and 77/0 at the 9-over mark, MI could manage only 155 in 20 overs, a target which KKR chased down comfortably with 29 balls to spare courtesy of blazing fifties from Venkatesh Iyer (53 off 30 balls) and Rahul Tripathi (74*off 42).

Rohit Sharma asserted that his batsmen weren’t able to finish well, and the pacers leaked runs at the start of KKR’s innings.

“Few areas (went wrong). We started really well but didn’t get enough towards the back end. I thought it was a good pitch. We failed to capitalize on the start we got and we didn’t bowl well at the start. I don’t want to look into it too much, things can happen and you have to move on,” Rohit Sharma said at the post-match press conference. 

Not easy for new batters to go in and start hitting the ball: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma highlighted that the new batsman would find it difficult to score boundaries from the onset of his innings. The failure to capitalize on the top-order’s performance has been a concern for the defending champions this season.

“After a good start we had to get small partnerships but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it is not easy for new batters to go in and start hitting the ball. It is something that happened in the last game as well and we will address it,” he added.

Mumbai have now slipped to the sixth position in the points table, but Sharma remains confident of his team’s ability to bounce back.

“It is always there at the back of the mind on where you stand, we are still in the middle of the table, so we have to get back and fight and hopefully get some wins on the trot,” the MI skipper concluded.

Mumbai will travel back to Dubai to take on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.

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