Rohit Sharma blames lack of partnerships for "worst batting display" of the season

Half-centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (56) and Manoj Tiwary (58), along with a scintillating 26-ball 40 by MS Dhoni, helped Pune enter their first, and maybe last, final of the IPL. After Pune posted 162/4, the hosts failed to cope with the pressure of the chase and Sharma felt that the batting was the sole reason for the defeat.

"I think 160 was below par to be honest, having seen the scores chased here. Probably the worst batting performance of this season for us," Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony. 

"We didn't have enough partnerships, it's crucial to get small partnerships in. They bowled well to restrict us and to take wickets in the middle overs.”

Mumbai batsmen failed to find the gaps and were undone by some wonderful bowling of Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur. 

"The shot selection is very important. You need to understand the situation and the conditions and respect them. You've to pick the gaps and take it to the end and we didn't do that. It's not the end of the world, we still have one more shot in Bangalore," he added.

Dhoni, whose pyrotechnics allowed Pune to add 41 runs in the last two overs, decisively shifted the momentum in Pune’s favour and Smith reserved special praise for his predecessor. 

"It's been good this year, three times we've beaten them now. It was a big game. We had to be a little conservative today and we timed it well to get 160. MS was magnificent. We got the momentum we needed," Smith said.

"You really need to peak at the right time in tournaments like this. We executed our plans really well. We tried to take the pace off the ball; it worked nicely for us throughout the tournament and today as well." 

Taking advantage of the dew on the surface, Sundar dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, and Kieron Pollard to dismantle the Mumbai middle-order and ended with impressive figures of 3/16 in his four-over quota.  

"There was a bit of dew, but it was still gripping. We executed really well to restrict them. Washington's lengths were magnificent and it was great he did it on a big stage like this. He has done a lot for us, very proud of him," said Smith.