Follow UsDifferent venue, different opposition, but the same result. Three days ago, in one of the most thrilling chases of the season, Mumbai Indians chased down 213 against Rajasthan Royals, but remarkably, on Wednesday in Mohali, the five-time champions made it two 210+ targets in as many days by knocking off 215 with seven balls to spare.
Playing fearless, carefree cricket was what enabled MI to chase the daunting total against RR, and the same was the theme for Rohit Sharma’s side on Wednesday as they made it five wins in seven to put other fellow top-four contenders on red alert.
On the back of the stunning chase, skipper Rohit assured that his side will continue to play fearless cricket going forward.
“Before the start of the season we spoke about how we want to play our cricket. With the bat, we just wanted to go out there and play fearlessly and not worry about the results,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
“Often you think about the results you move away from your plans. But we talked right at the start that we want to be fearless.”
After a middling start in the powerplay - 50/2 off 6 - it was unsurprisingly Suryakumar Yadav that provided the spark for the visitors. Surya got off to a quick start, racing to 18 off his first 11 balls, and then turned the game on its head by taking down Sam Curran, pummelling the left-armer for 23 runs in the 13th over.
Following a slow start to the season, the 32-year-old has returned back to his old self, accumulating scores of 66, 55, 23 and 57 in his last four innings.
Rohit was not surprised by SKY’s impact.
“Look, he has been doing that for the last couple of years. Batted brilliantly. To play behind the wicket, that's his strength and he utilised it really well. Surya and Kishan batted brilliantly and good finish by Tim and Tilak.”
The skipper was also full of praise for Ishan Kishan, who after a few lean matches, roared back to his best on Wednesday, smashing a 41-ball 75.
“Kishan is a little man but he has got a lot of power. He practices those shots that we saw today. So what matters is what he does off the field and it comes off on the field.”
The skipper, though, admitted that bowling remains a big concern. Wednesday marked the fourth consecutive instance of Mumbai conceding a 200+ total this season.
“It is something that we need to look at, certain options we need to take in the middle of the overs, how to shut off overs. It's been three or four games where we have conceded 200 so we need to find those options in the middle,” the skipper said.
Up next for Mumbai: a trip to Chennai on Saturday (May 06). A win will take Rohit’s side to second spot on the table.