Was desperate to win vs Kolkata, says Mumbai's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma
Ricky Ponting dropped himself from the Mumbai Indians side and Rohit Sharma was appointed skipper against Kolkata, in a match that Mumbai won off the very last over.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: April 25, 2013 12:25 AM IST
In yet another last over finish in the IPL, the Mumbai Indians edged past the Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets and with a ball to spare at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Mumbai's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma was delighted with the win, especially as he had been entrusted to lead the side in Ponting's absence. "It is a good start to my captaincy career, I desperately wanted to win this game," said Rohit at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"We fought extremely well and deserved the victory. Dwayne Smith was outstanding in the chase of 160 and we ultimately got over the line," added Rohit.
West Indian opener Dwayne Smith was pleased with his match-winning knock of 62 that set the platform for a successful Mumbai chase. "Our batting was disciplined and we got a good start to the chase," he said after collecting his Man of the Match award. "I'm enjoying opening for the side and look forward to the same in the games to follow."
"It has been another tough night for us and all the credit must go to the Mumbai side for their batting performance. It is a good track and Mumbai showed more application than us with the bat," said a disappointed KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir.
Sunil Narine picked up 3 wickets for Kolkata and conceded just 17 runs but the bowlers around him were not able to support the highest wicket-taker in this edition of the IPL so far. "It wasn't the best of days for us," said Narine. "Everyone has to step up and perform."
Narine though did manage to knock over Sachin Tendulkar's middle stump and was obviously delighted with the prize scalp. "Well yes, I enjoyed Tendulkar's dismissal and hopefully I can continue with such performances in the upcoming games," he added.