After losing the IPL 2022 campaign opener to Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium on Sunday, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that he was “disappointed” with the loss but indicated that it would not hamper the belief of the team.
MI posted a competitive total of 177/5 with the help of Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 81-run knock on Sunday before DC could chase it down with four wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
In the chase, DC were struggling at 104/6 in 13.2 overs but an unbeaten 75-run partnership between Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel for the seventh wicket helped them come back from behind and win the game. Lalit scored 48 not out off 38 balls, while Axar Patel hit an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls.
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“Disappointed, but it's not the end,” said Rohit after the game.
Mumbai got off to a blazing start (67/0) but once Rohit departed on his individual 41 off 32, wickets kept falling at regular intervals for the five-time champions. However, Kishan dug in his feels from one end and carried his bat with a strike rate of 168.75.
“I thought it was a good score. It didn't look like that kind of a pitch where you could get 170-plus at the start. But we played really well in the middle and finished off really well as well. Good score on the board, it's just that we didn't bowl according to the plans,” said the losing captain.
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Notably, Mumbai Indians have not won their IPL opener since 2012.
“Honestly, that's never been the talk. We always come prepared, whether it's the first game or last game, we want to try and win every game. But we made some mistakes on the field which didn't go according to plans. But those things can happen. We just need to keep it tight within the group,” Rohit concluded.
