'It was a collective failure of group': Rohit Sharma on why Mumbai Indians endured a poor run in UAE-leg of IPL 2021
Rohit reflected on his team's poor run in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021, highlighting how the break following the outburst of Covid-19 cases in the India leg hampered MI's momentum.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians may have been knocked out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 but one man who stole the show with his ravishing batting display was wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan. During Match no. 55 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abi Dhabi, the youngster from Jharkhand scored a 16-ball fifty and then went add 34 runs to his tally of runs before falling prey to Umran Malik.
Ishan’s blistering knock set the stage for MI in the contest. Later, Suryakumar Yadav provided the finishing touch with a 40-ball 82 as Rohit Sharma & Co posted a mammoth total of 235 runs. In reply, the Sunrisers were restricted to 193 for 8.
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After a terrific 42-run win, MI skipper Rohit lavished praise on Ishan for playing an important knock for the team. Speaking at the post-match presentation, the captain said, “He (Ishan Kishan) is a very talented player, just the right position for him to bat is very crucial. Today was a perfect game for him. That is the situation he likes. It was wonderful to see from the other end,” said Rohit at the post-match presentation.
Rohit reflected on his team's poor run in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021, highlighting how the break following the outburst of Covid-19 cases in the India leg hampered MI's momentum.
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“We have had on and off-season this time around. We have had a fabulous run as a franchise. It was wonderful to be part of this set-up, we can be very proud of that. We were getting momentum in Delhi and there was a break, that didn't help the team. It was a collective failure of group,” Rohit said.
Following this win, MI ended their journey in IPL 2021 at the fifth spot on the points table with 14 points. They missed out on a playoff berth due to a lower net run-rate (+0.116) than Kolkata Knight Riders (+0.587) who are currently placed fourth and became the final team to enter the Playoffs.