Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said he wanted to make the most of the Powerplay conditions while chasing 173 runs against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday. MI scored 66-0 in the first six overs with Rohit Sharma scoring 35 off 17 balls.
Rohit Sharma added 71 runs for the opening alliance with Ishan Kishan, who scored 31 runs. The MI captain scored his first IPL fifty after 24 innings in the tournament as he broke the much-needed deadlock.
Rohit scored a fine knock of 65 runs off just 45 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes as he made the most of the field restrictions.
Rohit also added a crucial partnership of 68 runs with Tilak Varma, who played a handy knock of 41 runs off just 29 balls.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma also gave credit to the team’s spinners. Veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla scalped three wickets and conceded only 22 runs in his quota of four overs to play a key role in keeping DC to 172 runs. Rohit added it was a collective team effort as everyone put their hand up in their first win of the season.
Rohit Sharma was also awarded Player of the Match for his fine knock in the run-chase against DC.
He said in the post-match presentation, “Winning the game is the most important. We have been working hard since the first game. We had a camp in Mumbai, and getting the result (in our favour) feels good. The first win is always special. We played a Test match here recently, the pitch looked different. Getting a slow bowler was important on this pitch. The spinners kept us in the game. We needed to bat well to chase the total. I thought everyone put their hand up. We had to make it count for the team.”
He added, “I needed to make use of the powerplay, I knew we had to keep attacking and take our chances. I tried to create a partnership, had a good communication with Tilak. It was important for us to have a good partnership. We have young guys who haven’t played IPL before, so it’s important to have faith in them. Give them that confidence, and we are trying to have a healthy atmosphere in the dressing room. Don’t need to make drastic changes, that’s really important.”
Mumbai Indians will play their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
