Rohit Sharma hails Mumbai Indians' spirit after IPL success

Sudhir Gupta 03:26 25/05/2015
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  • Champion: Rohit Sharma.

    Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma lauded the fighting spirit of his team as they went from losing the first four games of the season to lifting their second IPL title.

    Mumbai claimed a thumping 41-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a one-sided final at Eden Gardens last night. Mumbai Indians posted 202 for five and then restricted Chennai to 161 for eight, with Rohit himself scoring a superb half century.

    It was a clinical effort by the team that started the campaign on a disastrous note. And for captain Rohit, it was a proud moment.

    “To bounce back from that situation we found ourselves in in the first half is very rare. It has been a great journey. I couldn’t have asked for more,” the Mumbai batsman said.

    “It was important to show character. We knew we had guys who could do that. This is a sweet victory because we came from nowhere, with people writing us off.”

    What made the win even sweeter was Rohit’s performance at a venue that has delivered him so many good memories. Rohit scored the highest ODI score in history of 264 and his maiden Test ton for India both in Kolkata.

    He added: “It’s always been good here. Whenever I have come here, I have taken happy memories back.”

    For Mumbai Indians mentor Sachin Tendulkar, the form of their batsmen proved crucial in the turnaround. He said: “Overall, it has been a terrific turnaround after a poor start. It was tough season for us, but we stuck together.

    “Our batting picked up as time went by. They worked hard and got some victories. As time went by we kept playing better cricket.”

    For Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it was another missed opportunity. They have featured in six of the eight IPL finals but have won only twice.

    And Dhoni confessed they leaked too many runs when bowling while the loss of Brendon McCullum to Test commitments with New Zealand had damaged their batting strength.

    “I think they got too many runs on the board,” Dhoni said. “If we had kept them to 180, the game was on. This was a good team effort, but we never reached 100 per cent.

    “Losing Brendon McCullum just before the knockouts was a big blow. Overall the team performance was good, but we need to go back to the drawing board and see how we can win the IPL.”

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