Needed That Win After A Couple Of Losses: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians comfortably beat the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi. Mumbai Indians picked up a much-needed seven-wicket win and their third victory of IPL 2021 by chasing down 172 with seven wickets to spare as Quinton De Kock returned to form. Rohit Sharma hailed the collective effort from his men as they fulfilled their responsibilities well and did everything right to bounce back from two losses in a row.

Rajasthan Royals were off to a flying start as Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal ruled over the Mumbai Indians’ bowlers. The duo stitched a 66-run opening stand before Rahul Chahar dismissed both the openers. Captain Sanju Samson also played briskly and added 58 runs off 49 deliveries with Shivam Dube. Even though both Dube and Samson struck the ball, Mumbai Indians came back well at the death, giving away only 46 runs for two wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was outstanding, claiming figures of 4-0-15-1.

Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock delivered an assured start for the Mumbai Indians, even though the former perished without reaching 20. By the time Suryakumar Yadav departed in the tenth over, Mumbai had crossed half its target. De Kock and Krunal Pandya, promoted to number four, added a match-winning 63 for the fourth wicket, putting their side on the doorstep of a win. De Kock raised a 35-ball fifty in the 12th over, with Pandya departing in the 17th for 39. But De Kock and Kieron Pollard ensured no other wickets as they raced their team to a massive win.

We did everything right today, right from ball one: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma was pleased with his side as he revealed the need for a victory after a couple of losses, stating that they did everything right from ball one. The 33-year old lauded his team for fulfilling the responsibility handed to them and realized that Mumbai Indians looked positive looking at the Delhi pitch, which was different from the one in Chennai. Rohit hailed the bowling effort in the last seven overs and believes that they will get good tracks to play on moving forward. The right-handed batsman felt delighted to see De Kock back in form and credited Krunal Pandya equally for doing well.

“We needed that win badly after a couple of losses. We did everything right today, right from ball one, and very clinical towards the end as well. Individuals took the responsibilities that were given to them, it was a collective effort. Guys were positive as they got to know we were going to Delhi, because it was a good pitch, not like Chennai! I thought the bowlers did the job for us. In the last 7 overs we gave around 50 runs with 7 seven wickets in hand for them. Playing the conditions is very important. We knew that we’re going to play on good pitches after Chennai. We didn’t adapt well as a team there, but having said, it looks like from here on the pitch will suit us. There’s a lot of discussion that happens around us, because there’s a way we want to play. It’s very easy to go down when we know they’re 110 in 12 overs, it’s very easy to lose confidence. But we stuck to our plans. Very happy with Quinny’s knock, we know how good he can be. Not to forget Krunal’s innings as well,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation.

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