Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma admitted that they didn’t execute well with the ball after their eight-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday. MI posted a fighting score of 171 runs after Tilak Varma was the lone warrior for the visitors.
The tourists got off to a horrible start with the bat as they were reduced to 48-4 after 8.5 overs. However, Varma showed his class as he took on the attack against Glenn Maxwell, taking the off-spinner for 16 runs in an over.
The left-hander continued to impress with the bat and went on to score 84 runs to take MI past the 170-mark. However, the opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli was brilliant for RCB as they added 148 runs for the first wicket. Faf scored 73 runs whereas Kohli went on to score an unbeaten knock of 82 runs.
Except for Piyush Chawla, who conceded 26 runs in his four overs, all the MI bowlers received thrashing from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis.
Rohit Sharma showered praise on Tilak Varma but feels they were 30-40 runs short of a par score on a batting paradise wicket.
He said in the post-match presentation, “Didn’t have a great start with the bat in the first six overs. But, it was a really good effort from Tilak and a few other batters. But, we didn’t execute well with the ball. It was a good pitch to bat on. (On Tilak Verma) He is a positive person, quite talented as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Hats off to Tilak to get us to a competitive total. It was a good pitch to bat on. We didn’t set any target but we didn’t even bat to half of our potential and we got to 170. Probably 30-40 runs more would have been ideal.”
Meanwhile, MI is without the services of Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from a back injury. Rohit added that the other bowlers need to put their hand up in Bumrah’s absence and take the onus on their shoulders.
Rohit added, “From the last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah. Of course this is a different setup but someone needs to put their hand up and step up. We can’t keep dwelling on it. Injuries are not in our control, we can’t do much about it. The other guys in the setup are quite talented as well. We need to give them that support. Just the first game of the season, there’s a lot to look forward to.”
Mumbai Indians will face Chennai Super Kings on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
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