Rohit happy to let Surya, Kishan open - Mumbai Indians
But watching Evin Lewis bat the way he did in the first six overs, it didn’t seem like that.I think that’s what he did, and it allowed me to take my time and which was very crucial.
Rohit Sharma was on a roll at the Wankhede on Tuesday night. Apart from registering his 50th fifty in Twenty20 cricket, the Mumbai Indians skipper also became the second-highest six-hitter in Vivo IPL history. What’s more, he won a mind-numbing fourth Man of the Match award in five outings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The result? We got our first win of the season in some style.
Sharma, who walked into the middle with the scoreboard reading 0/2 in the very first over, negotiated Umesh Yadav’s hat-trick ball. Then, as is his wont, he hung around, watching Evin Lewis launch a counter-strike instead. But once the West Indian departed after smashing a 42-ball 65, Sharma made the final six overs his own. So much so that he went from 40 off 30 to finish with an awe-inspiring 94 off 52. His strike-rate jumped from 133.33 to 180.76.
So, what was his mindset when he walked in after Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan fell off the first two deliveries? “When I went to bat in, there was a lot happening on the pitch because it was a little on the softer side. Shot-making wasn’t easy. But watching Evin Lewis bat the way he did in the first six overs, it didn’t seem like that. The idea was to build partnerships. We wanted to make it difficult for their bowlers with our left-right combination. We wanted to keep batting as long as we could. So, I think that was the idea. We put the bad balls away. That is where I think we had the upper hand for six overs after losing those two wickets off the first two balls,” Sharma explained.
Sharma’s knock was studded with 10 fours and five maximums. He now has 179 sixes in the Vivo IPL, five more than third-placed Suresh Raina. For the record, Chris Gayle tops the charts with 269.
The skipper lavished praise on Trinidadian Lewis, who finally came into his own in the fourth match of the season. “With Evin Lewis batting, anything can happen. He’s a great striker of the ball and if there’s anything in his area, he’s going to smash it. I think that’s what he did, and it allowed me to take my time and which was very crucial. We always wanted one set batsman to bat as long as possible. It was a perfect platform for me,” he said.
Sharma evoked peals of laughter in the press conference hall when he said one can’t “guide” West Indian players. “You don’t guide West Indian players. You have to let them be themselves. If you try to talk to them and tell them this is how you should defend, and this is how you should play a shot, (they will do the) opposite! Nothing will fall in place then. It’s better we let them do their thing and that’s how you get the best out of them. One thing that I’ve learnt from handling Kieron Pollard is I don’t tell him anything. So, I guess it will be the same for Evin Lewis as well because he’s a natural striker of the ball and you shouldn’t complicate things with him. You should allow him to play the way he wants. Sometimes it will come of, sometimes it will not. The day it does, he will win you games on his own. So, for such players, you don’t talk much. You have to let them be themselves most of the time,” Sharma added.
MI suffered an almighty scare when Ishan Kishan was hit on the eye while collecting a throw from the deep. According to the skipper, the wicketkeeper-batsman is alright. “Yeah, that was very unfortunate. I have not checked on him because as soon the presentation got over I came here. But he seems to be alright. He has got a little swelling on the eyes, which I guess should be okay by tomorrow or day after before. We have got a few days before our next match (on Sunday, April 22). We can assess his injury and, hopefully, he’ll be fine,” Sharma said.
Sharma, who opened the batting in the first two games before moving to No. 4, said the team wasn’t looking to change anything now. He also made it clear that he wanted to give more opportunities to the younger, newer players like Suryakumar and Kishan. “No, I don’t think we’re looking to change anything right now. I think it’s important to keep the guys comfortable because they should know where they are batting for the next few games. You can’t chop and change so much. I think it’s not a good idea and is not good for the team as well. They should know where they are batting and they can obviously plan accordingly. If you keep changing too much, it doesn’t help anyone. So, I think, it is important to understand that and let that message go across. The reason I came down the order was because of the new guys. Surya has played (for MI in the past), Ishan is playing for the franchise for the first time and we want him to just go out and bat freely. He’s that kind of a player. You need to give him that freedom to him and to Surya as well. He’s done well for Kolkata Knight Riders and he was with this franchise before and so we want him go up the order and bat freely. All of us — me, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya — we can take that pressure and make sure that the team is in a good position all the time. Again, like I said, sometimes it can happen and sometimes it can’t happen. But I think this is the ideal combination for us right now.
One of the highlights of Sharma’s 108-run stand with Lewis was the way they handled the spinners. The duo never allowed Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal to settle. In all, the spin duo went for 64 runs in five overs. “When an off-spinner is bowling, right-handers are most likely to take those chances. And when leg-spinners are bowling, left-handers will take chances. I think that happens everywhere. You have to target all the bowlers. It’s not just about one or two individuals because that means the other guys will be in their comfort zone. If you can put pressure on (all of) them, it will be good for the team,” Sharma said.
The captain said the team never lost heart despite their horror start to the season. “We were positive all throughout. To be honest, I didn’t look into the last three games at all. They were all close finishes. One bad shot from the (opposition) batsman would’ve won us the game, so I didn’t look much into it. The only thing that we didn’t do as a group in the last three games was that sometimes we batted well but didn’t bowl well. And when we bowled well, we didn’t bat well. So, the idea was to get bot these departments going. Today, we did that. We got wickets with the new ball, Mitch (Mitchell McClenaghan) bowled very well. He bowled a great spell up front to get experienced the batsmen (Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers) out. Then, Krunal Pandya came in and used his variations to his advantage. He’s a very clever bowler and he exactly knows where the batsman is going to target him. He reads the batsman really well. Not to forget Mayank. He is just 20 and playing his fourth game. And, to come out and bowl in such difficult conditions, it’s not easy. I think those two guys have to get a lot of credit but obviously our pace battery is doing their job for a number of years. Mustafizur Rahman is playing for the first time and he has had a great few games. He didn’t do well today but these things can happen. Sometimes, you’ll be consistent, sometimes it won’t be your day. For us, it was important that we come together as a group and put up a collective performance.”
MI will meet Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Sunday, April 22. The team is upbeat following our first win, and this should be another fine contest.
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