JOIN USMumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was a relieved man on Tuesday. After three straight defeats, the defending champions notched up their first victory, a commanding 46-run win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Rohit said despite the poor start, his team remained as a positive unit. “We were positive all throughout. To be honest I did not look into the last three games at all. The idea was to be consistent with bat and ball. I think we did that in this game and we got wickets with the new ball.
"Mitch (Mitchell McClenaghan) bowled a great spell upfront to get the experienced batsmen out (Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers), and then Krunal (Pandya) came in and used his variation to his advantage. Not to forget Mayank (Markande) as well. He is just 20 years old playing his fourth game and to come out and bowl in such difficult conditions is not easy. I think these two guys (have to be) given a lot of credit,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference.
Rohit’s own run in the league till the game against RCB was scratchy. Walking into bat with his side struggling at 0/2, the right-hander felt stitching partnerships was his immediate target.
“The idea was to build partnerships as it's crucial if you are looking to post a decent target. The only talk I had with Evin Lewis was that it was going to be difficult for their bowlers as long as the left-right hand combination lasted. So we wanted to bat for as long as possible. The idea was to put away the bad balls and that is what we did in the first six overs. With Lewis’ batting, anything can happen. He is a great striker of the ball and anything in his area, he is going to smash it. This allowed me to take me my time,” Rohit explained.