Having registered his maiden half-century of the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in Mumbai Indians’ 46-run win over Chennai Super Kings, skipper Rohit Sharma has revealed that he was never under worried about his form.
The India opening batsman had endured an indifferent campaign prior to Friday’s clash against Chennai with no half-century to show for in 10 matches.
That drought finally came to an end on a spinning Chepauk pitch with Rohit’s 48-ball 67 helping the visitors post a challenging 155-4 after batting first. It was the first IPL fifty in over a year for the right-hander and it helped his side take another big step towards securing a play-off berth.
“Satisfying innings, mine,” Rohit said after collecting the man-of-the-match award.
“I was getting 30s and 40s but not getting half-centuries. At no point was I worried about my form because I was hitting the ball well.
FIFTY!
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2019
A well made half-century for @ImRo45. This is his first this season 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/PdKP98qina
“I knew the day will come, and I guess today was the day.”
Chennai, on the other hand, had to make do without the services of MS Dhoni who missed the clash due to a fever. Led by stand-in skipper Suresh Raina, the hosts fell to their first home defeat in six attempts in the 2019 campaign while also being bowled out for their lowest ever IPL total (109) at the Chepauk stadium.
“It was a massive boost that MSD wasn’t around because his presence does a lot for their team,” Rohit stated on the veteran’s absence.
“When you don’t have Dhoni when they’re chasing the score, then it becomes difficult for them. I’m sure their presence was missed by CSK. But he was sick, it’s not in his control either. But as I said, coming here and winning here isn’t supposed to be easy,” he added.
The win helped Mumbai to climb to second spot in the IPL table with 14 points from 11 games and they are now just two points behind league leaders CSK whose play-off qualification remains on hold.
