Mumbai Indians (MI) went down against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 34 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata despite some incredible hitting from all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Following another thumping loss, Rohit Sharma rued weak batting efforts and said they failed to stitch partnerships which took them away from the game.
In pursuit of 233 runs, Mumbai Indians lost wickets at regular intervals which hurt their chances badly. After his swashbuckling knocks, Andre Russell came out with the ball to pick two wickets to break the backbone of the middle-order. Rohit Sharma admitted that there was no one to support Hardik Pandya from the other end. Also, he feels if someone could have batted alongside the Pandya, the results could have been different.
“You gotta start well which didn’t happen for us. We kept losing wickets which added more pressure towards the end. If somebody would have played a hand with Hardik, we lost by 30 runs, you never know,” Rohit said after the match.
This is a learning for us: Rohit
Previously, Kolkata Knight Riders displayed a strong batting effort to post such a massive score. Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill set a great platform before Andre Russell finished it off in great style. Rohit Sharma credited the Kolkata batters; however, he didn’t seem worried about their bowling attack which went for bonkers today.
“Got to give credit to their batters, Lynn set the tone, Gill batted really well and Russell finished it off. This is a learning for us. We will find some answers going forward. Today was a testing time for us, but I am not really worried how the bowling unit will come back from this,” he added.
Rohit Sharma also hailed Hardik Pandya for his outstanding knock but admitted that it is impossible to win games alone. However, with two homes games lined up, the Rohit-led Mumbai Indians will have to believe in their abilities and look to return to winning
“You need few of the guys to put their hands up, not one guy can take you through. We needed partnerships, someone to bat longer with Hardik. Credit to him, magnificent effort. Have to regroup quickly now, we are playing two home games and know the conditions well. As a team, we have done some right things and we have to believe in our abilities. You got to stay positive and look forward to the next game,” he concluded.