IPL 2021: Have to get back and fight, says Rohit Sharma after MI's defeat against KKR

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma urged his players to fight hard and record some wins on the trot, following a second consecutive defeat in the UAE leg of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The defending champions suffered a loss by a margin of seven wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), having been relegated to a disappointing result against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) previously. Rohit admitted that the batting department failed to deliver a quality finish having enjoyed a fine start to proceedings. The opener stated that MI have been losing wickets at regular intervals, which is something the team management will certainly look to address.

“Have to get back and fight”

“Few areas (went wrong). We started really well but didn’t get enough towards the back end. I thought it was a good pitch, we failed to capitalize on the start we got and we didn’t bowl well at the start. I don’t want to look into it too much, things can happen and you have to move on. After a good start we had to get small partnerships but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it is not easy for new batters to go in and start hitting the ball. It is something that happened in the last game as well and we will address it. It is always there at the back of the mind on where you stand, we are still in the middle of the table, so we have to get back and fight and hopefully get some wins on the trot,” stated Rohit as quoted by Cricbuzz.

KKR skipper Eoin Morgan was elated following the triumph, stating that the team would continue to soar to new heights of success.

“Well it’s been a long time coming. Since Baz (McCullum) has taken over last year, the way we have played in the last two games is the way our coach wants us to play. It suits our talent to play this way. To hold such a strong Mumbai Indians side to 155 and chase this down gives us confidence. Fitting Venkatesh Iyer into our XI has been difficult with a lot of talented guys, and it’s fantastic the way he’s scored his runs,” said Morgan.

“In the practice games too he has gone on to play this way. Sunil and Chakravarthy are two formidable bowlers. Sunil has been integral to KKR winning when they’ve done. Varun is the fresh guy. The first two games in this phase has been the template for us to play. There’s only one way for us to go in the points table and that is upwards,” he added.

“When you are positive the pressure goes to the bowlers”

One of the key contributors in KKR’s triumph was Rahul Tripathi with the batsman scoring an unbeaten 74 off 42 deliveries.

“I really enjoyed the batting today and happy that I stayed till the end and got the team home. Obviously the coach tells us to be positive. When you are positive the pressure goes to the bowlers and you just look for runs. It was important to put their spinners under pressure. I felt it was important to get boundaries. The team environment is very positive. We wanted to hit the ground running in the second phase. Definitely very happy,” stated the cricketer.