IPL 2021 | Was a great effort from the bowlers, praises Rohit Sharma
Winning skipper Rohit Sharma was delighted with his team's win over SRH and credited the bowlers for putting up a startling show yet again. However, he did point out that the team's batting could have been better as the MI batsmen have played a lot of their cricket on similar wickets.
If winning games and tournaments from behind is an art, then Mumbai Indians are masters of it. Another game at Chepauk, and it was another heist from the defending IPL champions as they thwarted Sunrisers Hyderabad in the middle-overs after they had started off in a remarkable manner. Rahul Chahar was again amongst the wickets as he tormented the SRH batting in the middle-overs and scalped three wickets to put Hyderabad on the back foot. However, with Vijay Shankar, fighting till in the end, hopes were ripe that the end result can go in SRH's favor but then Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult showed their class and nailed the game at the death.Ā
Rohit Sharma showered praise on his bowlers after they led a stunning fight back and choked SRH post the Powerplay overs. He also suggested that the batting could have been better after MI, pretty much like SRH, had also struggled in the middle-overs, earlier, just that they had Kieron Pollard at the death, who changed the fortunes for his side.
"It was a great effort from the bowling unit. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. On that pitch, when you're bowling well, it's not easy. I thought it was a good score on that pitch. You saw from both the teams, trying to capitalise on the powerplay. Having said that, I think we can bat better in the middle overs. All these guys have played a lot of cricket on pitches like these. So, there are areas to work on. At the same time, don't want to be too harsh on the guys," Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
"Polly has done it for so many years for us at the back end. We have the confidence in him. It's all about him getting some time in the middle," he added.
Not often have we seen so many bowlers-friendly wickets in the IPL but this year, at least at the start, there have been many low-scoring encounters. Speaking on the pitch, the MI skipper remarked that it becomes tougher to bat on the Chepauk wicket as the match progresses and it's a challenge to bat aggressively right from the word-go.Ā
"I think the pitch gets slower and slower. Rahul was turning the ball in his fourth over, which was the 12th or 13th over. That doesn't happen in Mumbai. The ball was reversing as well. The slowishness of the deck doesn't allow batsmen to come and slog straightaway. One set batter carrying through is needed, which is what's not happening for all of the teams that have played here. . Our fielding was really good tonight, that's something we take pride in. Those run outs and also the catches."