IPL 2023: Disappointing, we conceded too many runs in the last few overs – Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma was disappointed after their big loss of 55 runs against defending champions at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Tuesday. After Rohit Sharma opted to field first after winning the toss, GT posted an above-par score of 207 runs on the board.

After losing Wriddhiman Saha early, Shubman Gill took charge as he scored a brisk fifty. But GT went through a lull period after a decent start in the Powerplay overs and found themselves at 101-4 after 11.2 overs.

It was when Abhinav Manohar and David Miller joined forces and took the onslaught against the MI bowlers. The pair smashed 71 runs off just 35 balls as both of them batted at the top of their game.

Manohar scored 42 runs from 21 balls whereas Miller smashed 46 runs from 22 balls. There was no respite for the MI bowlers even after these two were dismissed as Rahul Tewatia smashed three sixes on the first four balls. The left-hander played a fine cameo of 5-ball 20 to help his team go past the 200-run mark.

GT scored 94 runs in the last six overs as they were able to finish on a high. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians could not stay in the run-chase as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The visitors found themselves tottering at 90-6 and they suffered a huge loss.

Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “That’s a little disappointing, we had control of the game and the last few overs went for a few too many runs. Every team has different strengths, we have a good batting line up and we back ourselves to go out and get that target, today wasn’t our today.”

He added, “There was some dew and we needed someone to bat a little deeper. We came pretty close in the last game while chasing 215 but we didn’t start well with the bat today and that is not the right thing when chasing 200+. Even in the last 7 overs we didn’t have many batters batting in the middle.”

Mumbai Indians bowlers were not up not to the mark as almost all of them, barring Arjun Tendulkar, were taken for plenty of runs. However, Rohit gave only two overs to Tendulkar, in which he conceded nine runs and also took a wicket. In fact, MI had conceded 96 runs in the last five overs against Punjab Kings in their previous game and they will need to pull up their socks with the ball.

Mumbai Indians will look to get back to winning ways in their next match against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.