Rohit Sharma fought a valiant but lonely battle against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium. He found some support from opener Ishan Kishan and No. 4 Tilak Varma early on but it was not enough. The middle order faltered against CSK’s bowling strategy. Undeterred, Rohit scored an unbeaten 105, but his heroic effort went in vain as CSK won the match by 20 runs.
The target of 207 is achievable on the flat track at the Wankhede Stadium. The 70-run opening partnership between Rohit and Ishan made their chase smoother. Matheesha Pathirana took two quick wickets in his first over to put MI on the backfoot. Rohit and Tilak then attacked the rival bowlers to bring Mumbai back into the contest. Tilak’s untimely dismissal almost ended Mumbai’s chances and the five-time champions failed to get going.
Rohit was shattered and heartbroken as he went past the players after the last of the Mumbai’s innings.
Mumbai were on the verge of breaking into the top four in the ongoing IPL season before suffering a defeat, their fourth this tournament, against CSK. MI are eighth in the table with four points and a net run rate of -0.234.
Mumbai will next play Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh.
