Rohit Sharma comfortable batting down the order for the Mumbai Indians

Following a miserable run with the bat, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma found some much-needed form with a 29-ball 40 against the Gujarat Lions. At no.3, Rohit had failed to get to double figures in four consecutive games, aggregating a mere 9 runs prior to the match against the Lions.

With a spot in the national team up for grabs before the Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma was under tremendous pressure to score some runs. However, the skipper of the Mumbai Indians stitched a valuable partnership with Kieron Pollard to guide his side over the finish line.

Needing 177 to win, MI lost Parthiv Patel in the second ball of the chase. Rohit decided to send the in form Nitish Rana ahead of him, who set up the match wonderfully with a well crafted 53. Hitman came in at no.4 this time and saw his side home, with Hardik Pandya once again remaining unbeaten at the end of the innings.

Rohit was clearly relieved to score those 40 runs. His expression at the post-match presentation spoke volumes of how much that knock meant to him under the current circumstances.

“It’s good to get some runs. I’ve been let down at the start of the tournament. That is not the standard I expect out of myself. But what has gone has gone. I’m not thinking too much about it,” Rohit Sharma said.

Rohit Sharma was mighty pleased with his latest performance on the back of poor outings with the bat. He was willing to bat lower down the order, as it would allow Nitish Rana to maintain his sparkling form and let the likes of Pollard and himself to free their arms late in the innings. In the Pandya brothers, the Mumbai Indians also have a strong set of finishers who provide a flurry of runs at the back end.

“I would love to open but then (you have to think) certain things from the team’s perspective. I mean with me batting at three, four it gives the right balance. If the team requires me to open, I will go and open also,” Rohit said.

“And I’m not going to change too much of the batting as well as the guy at No. 3 (Rana) just got the Orange cap. I don’t want to change his position. He’s a fearless cricketer. He likes to take on the bowlers straightaway so I guess the No 3 is the ideal position for him,” he added.

Interestingly, Rohit Sharma had succumbed to four quality spinners on four occasions, out of which three were leggies. Imran Tahir, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan and Samuel Badree have had the privilege of scalping the dangerous batsman in this season of the IPL so far. Upon being asked how Rohit was repeatedly unable to negotiate the spinners, he mentioned, “It was just a simple mistake I guess. I was trying to play with the spin, which is what we’ve been taught but these guys have been playing googlies.”

“So I had to play against it. I mean, the first ball you don’t play against the spin, so… That is something which I was supposed to do out there but I didn’t. I went back to the drawing board and decided to play it straight and not in the ‘V’. I know it sounds stupid to not play in the ‘V’ but that’s how it is now. I mean these days games have changed so much, well, luckily they had only one spinner,” Sharma concluded.

The Mumbai Indians currently occupy the top spot in the standings. This should take the pressure off Rohit Sharma who will look to score freely and register his first 50 in this year’s IPL.