NEWS
Follow UsMumbai Indians (MI) succumbed to their third loss of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 as Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated them by nine wickets in Chennai on Friday (April 23). Disappointed with the loss, MI captain Rohit Sharma said that his batsmen lacked application in their batting. MI put up just 131 runs on the board on a slow, sluggish Chepauk pitch.
"Something is missing in our batting line-up, we are not able to bat 20 overs in the fashion we want and that is something that we have to look at and see what we can do," said Rohit.
"I still feel it is not a bad wicket to bat on. You saw how Punjab Kings batted and won the game with 9 wickets in hand. It is just the application which is missing in our batting."
"If you get 150-160 on this wicket then you are always in the game, that is something we failed to do in the last two games. We have batted well in the powerplay previously but today we failed to do so," Rohit added.
PBKS ended their three-match losing streak with a resounding win and their captain, who scored a patient fifty had a huge part to play. However, Rahul warns against getting too ahead of themselves despite defeating the defending champions comprehensively. "We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. Slowly we are coming together as a team. The guys we have backed are slowly coming through. (Ravi) Bishnoi came back today and the way he bowled was brilliant.
We had heard that there was a lot of dew here. I felt like that could play a part," he said. "The drier ball started to grip, when it turns it gets really hard. It was good of Chris (Gayle) that he got through that period. He knew whom to target. That's what you get with Chris, not just destructive batting but also experience of playing T20 cricket," said Rahul, referring to Gayle's unbeaten 43 off 35 balls.
Speaking of leg-spinner Bishnoi, Rahul said, "He (Bishnoi), unfortunately, missed the first few games, he's worked with Anil (Kumble) bhai, he's been brave. He held his composure. When I know what target I am chasing, it gets easier to pace the innings. Really happy with the way I finished the innings."
Having won two of their five matches, PBKS now are in fifth position with four points, while MI are one spot ahead of them at fourth place with the same amount of points.