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Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI) sustained a horrendous start to their campaign on April 2 (Sunday) after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) trounced the Men in Blue by eight wickets at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Chasing a competitive target of 172 runs, the Red Army rode on former skipper Virat Kohli's stylish knock of 82 not out off 49 balls and current captain Faf du Plessis' attractive innings of 73 runs off 43 balls to chase down the target in just 16.2 overs with 22 balls to spare.
Rohit Sharma's men suffered their fifth defeat in the last six matches against RCB. It was MI's 11th consecutive defeat in their first match of an IPL season. The Men in Blue's bowling attack looked toothless against the maverick stoke-makers of RCB. It would be fair to say that Rohit missed his premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah services.
After the game, the Hitman was quizzed about Bumrah's absence and how big of a shoe it is to fill. The MI captain came up with a genuine reply and urged other bowlers to step up in Bumrah's absence.
"From the last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah," Rohit told the host broadcaster after the match.
"Of course, this is a different setup but someone needs to put their hand up and step up. We can't keep dwelling on it. Injuries are not in our control, we can't do much about it. The other guys in the setup are quite talented as well. We need to give them that support. Just the first game of the season, there's a lot to look forward to," he added.
MI's batting unit crumbled like a pack of cards on a wicket which is tailor-made for flamboyant stoke-making. If it wasn't for Tilak Varma's 84 not out off 46 balls, MI would struggle to cross the 130-run mark. Rohit also applauded the young left-handed batter after the game.
"He (Tilak Varma) is a positive person, quite talented as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Hats off to Tilak to get us to a competitive total. It was a good pitch to bat on. We didn’t set any target but we didn't even bat to half of our potential and we got to 170. Probably 30-40 runs more would have been ideal," the MI captain opined.
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