You Can’t Expect To Qualify For The Playoffs If You Play Your Worst Game: Gautam Gambhir Criticises Rajasthan Royals For Poor Performance Against Mumbai Indians

Former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir criticised Rajasthan Royals for their abysmal performance against Mumbai Indians.

Rajasthan Royals lost to Mumbai Indians by eight wickets on Tuesday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The Royals were 41/2 at the end of the powerplay overs having lost both the openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis.

MI thumped Rajasthan Royals by an eight-wicket win

Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile (4/14) and New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham (3/12) ran riot through Rajasthan’s batting line-up as they held them for a paltry score of 90/9 in the first innings.

Gambhir said that Sanju Samson and his men shouldn’t expect to qualify for the playoffs after playing like this in a crucial match.

“If you play this kind of cricket, this is what you deserve. You can’t expect to qualify for the playoffs if you play your worst game at the crunch moment. This is where it matters the most and comes down to how much mental strength you have. This is where you can differentiate boys from men,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

Ishan Kishan played some fabulous shots: Gautam Gambhir

Mumbai Indians chased the target within 8.2 overs as Ishan Kishan smashed a splendorous fifty at the strike rate of 200. After going through a series of poor outings with the bat, the southpaw clobbered five fours and three sixes to give Mumbai Indians an upper hand in the points table.

Gambhir hailed Ishan Kishan for his massive change with the bat and also credited Mumbai Indians for their approach on a sluggish track in Sharjah.

“Ishan Kishan took his opportunity with both hands and played really well. He actually played out a maiden over and everyone was talking about whether he should get aggressive. He played some fabulous shots and is going to get a lot of confidence from here,” Gambhir said.

“You should never judge the surface until both teams have played on it. Mumbai Indians made it look so easy and it looked like a very good wicket. That just shows how much difference there is in the quality of both the attacks. They (RR) didn’t look like the side who were in the race for qualification. No way,” he added. 

Rajasthan Royals will face KKR on October 7 while Mumbai will play SRH the very next day of KKR’s game to contend for fourth place in the IPL 2021 playoffs.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Probably The Fault Lies More With Us Than The Pitch Or Toss, Admits Kumar Sangakkara On RR’s Loss Against MI