Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma missed scoring his first half-century of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Rohit was dismissed by left-arm Axar Patel for a score of 49. This is the third time Rohit missed his half-century in IPL history by just one run. Rohit surpassed five batters -- David Warner, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Sanju Samson and Chris Lynn -- who got out for 49 twice in their IPL careers.
After Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field first, Rohit showed first signs of aggression in the second over hitting Ishan Sharma for two consecutive fours. He went after Jhye Richardson who made his debut for DC. In the fourth over, he smashed the Australian pacer for two consecutive sixes.
He welcomed Patel with a six sweeping him over backward square leg. He attacked part-time off-spinner Lalit Yadav as well but hitting him for three fours. His whirlwind knock helped MI post 75 runs in the powerplay overs. In the seventh over, Patel bowled it flatter and quicker. Rohit went down the track but missed the ball as it hit the stumps. He shared an 80-run opening stand with Ishan Kishan. His 27-ball 49 featured six fours and three sixes.
In the previous game, Rohit was dismissed for a duck against Rajasthan Royals (RR). In MI's campaign opener, he missed a half-century as he was dismissed for 43 in the run chase against Gujarat Titans (GT). So far, he has scored 128 runs from four innings at an average of 32.
MI post massive total
After Rohit's electrifying start, Suryakumar Yadav in his first match after injury was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Anrich Nortje. Kishan accelerated but he missed his half-century as well. He was out caught and bowled by Patel. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 42 runs from 23 balls including four fours and a couple of sixes.
Tilak Varma departed for a single-digit score to Khaleel Ahmed. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Tim David shared a 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Pandya became victim to Nortje for a 33-ball 39. In the slog overs, MI's big-hitters went berserk. David smashes four sixes and two fours in his 21-ball 45. Romario Shepherd went ballistic in the last over hitting Nortje for 32 runs. His 10-ball 39 cameo helped MI post 234/5.
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