Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Lions by six wickets at Rajkot on Sunday to register their fourth consecutive win and in the process regained the top spot on the table. With a 4-1 win-loss record, Mumbai seem to be the team to beat. However, their only major concern was the form of captain Rohit Sharma, but that too was rectified on Sunday as he smashed 40 off 29 balls to take his team home. He had registered figures of 0, 4, 3, 2 in the four previous games.
Asked about his return to form Sharma said, “I thought you will ask me about the win. I have been a bit let down at the start, it’s not the standard I set for myself, but what is gone is gone and I am not thinking about it. It’s good to get some runs and I am very happy with the win.”
Sharma, who opens for India regularly, said that opening in the IPL will depend on the requirement of the team.
“I would love to open, but you have to see certain things from the team’s perspective, find the right balance. (I) batting at 4 or 3 gives the team right balance,” said Rohit. “Last year we felt we wanted someone to bat till the end which was not happening and we were not able to finish the games. I am open to anything whatever the team requires. I will go and open also and I am not closing my options right now,” he added.
Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler open the innings with Nitish Rana showing plenty of promise at the number three spot. “I am not going to change (the order) as there’s a brilliant batsman (Rana) at no. 3 right now. He has got the Orange cap. He’s a fearless batsman and takes on the bowlers. It’s his ideal spot,” said Rohit.
When quizzed against his weakness against spin, Sharma said he consciously played with a straight bat. “These guys were bowling googlies and I was playing against the spin which I was not supposed. Today (Sunday) I just decided to play straight.”
He also praised his teammates for its fourth straight win that has boosted MI to the top of the table with eight points from five games. “Lots of credit to the players as notching up four consecutive wins is never easy, especially after we had been challenged in terms of conditions,” Sharma said.
