IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians "Can Do Better In The Middle Overs", Says Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians pulled off another close shave against SunRisers Hyderabad in Match 9 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Despite their renowned batting lineup failing to really fire, two sixes off the final two deliveries of their innings from Kieron Pollard powered them to 150/5 and then some excellent bowling saw SRH suffer another collapse to hand MI a 13-run win. MI captain Rohit Sharma praised his bowlers but admitted that they should be batting better in the middle overs.

"I thought we had a good score for this pitch. You saw both the teams capitalizing on the powerplay. Having said that, we can do better in the middle overs. All the players are experienced enough to do that," Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation.

"But I don't want to take credit away from them, when you have guys like Rashid and Mujeeb bowling it's not easy," he added.

Rohit Sharma also spoke about the Chennai pitch being a slow one and difficult to bat on.

"The pitch is getting slower and slower, bowlers are always in the game till 20 overs. Even the seamers it's not easy to get them away and the slowish nature makes it harder for the batsman to slog straight away," Rohit said.

"You need one set batsman at the end, just need some intelligent batting," he added.

"Great effort from the bowling unit, we knew it was not going to be easy. When you have a pitch like that and the bowlers execute, it makes it easy for a captain," Rohit said about his bowlers.

Rohit Sharma also praised his team's fielding efforts. Hardik Pandya in particular stood out, effecting two direct-hit run-outs to get rid of David Warner and Abdul Samad.

"I thought our fielding was good today, that's something we take pride in, we want to be the best unit in the tournament," he said.

Mumbai Indians have now won two of their three matches in the tournament, and are on top of the table.

Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2021 Mumbai Indians Sunrisers Hyderabad Rohit Sharma Cricket