Mumbai: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma praised his pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for a ‘special’ bowling effort. However, after losing by 52 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders at the DY Patil Stadium on Monday, Sharma voiced his unhappiness with his batsmen’ performance.
Bumrah’s thrilling 5/10 session, which featured three wickets in one over and 18 dot balls, was in vain as Kolkata kept their modest playoff chances alive. Except for Ishan Kishan’s 51 runs, none of the other hitters in Mumbai’s lineup, with the exception of an ailing Suryakumar Yadav, could get the big hits.
We would take that total any day on that kind of a pitch. To see how things unfolded in the second half of the innings for us was a great effort from the bowling unit. Bumrah was special today. But I’m disappointed with the way we batted. I thought it was a par score on that pitch but it was a little poor from the bat from us,” said Sharma after the match.
Rohit: "Batters let us down, the consistency has been missing from us & we couldn't chase it down today."#OneFamily #दिलखोलके #MumbaiIndians #MIvKKR #TATAIPL
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 9, 2022
Sharma also bemoaned the lack of partnerships in Mumbai’s batting order, which lacked the quick and furious start that Kolkata had from Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane’s 60-run opening stand.
“We’re playing our fourth game here so we know what to expect from a pitch like that. There were a few balls that took off, but that happens. We know seam bowlers will get help, but we didn’t bat well, didn’t get partnerships and that was something missing from our side today.”
Sharma praised Mumbai’s comeback in halting Kolkata’s fast-paced innings, but conceded that their lack of consistency has been a trend this season.
“Looking at how they batted in the first 10 overs, I think they were 100 in the first 10 or 11 overs, but the way we came back was brilliant.”
“Bumrah was special. Great effort from him and the entire bowling unit. The batters let us down today. That’s been the story for us. The consistent performance from both departments has been missing. We couldn’t do it today.”
