Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) crumbled under pressure and failed to close out the game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 16 (Tuesday). Chasing a target of 178 runs, the most successful team in the cash-rich tournament got off to a flying start with openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan laying the platform. The duo combined for 90 runs in 9.4 overs before Ravi Bishnoi sent the MI skipper packing. With Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle, and plenty of firepower sitting in the dugout, the Men in Blue were the favourites.
An inspired performance by LSG bowlers in the second half of the MI innings changed the game's momentum, and Rohit Sharma's men ended up losing the game. The MI skipper voiced his frustration after the game and didn't want to switch focus on the upcoming must-win game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"We just lost the game, that's all I wanna say. We didn't win the little moments in the game. In the end, it's unfortunate, we need to keep our heads high," Rohit Sharma said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"We assessed the pitch really well, it was a really good pitch. It wasn't the pitch we saw in the other games. It was a good batting pitch. I mean in hindsight if you look at it, in the end, we gave more runs. In the last few overs, we lost our way. It was a chasable total but in the 2nd half, we lost the game," he added.
The Mumbai-based franchise is currently fourth on the points table with seven wins and six defeats in 13 matches played this season so far. Rohit's team has 14 points and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.128. The franchise's leader didn't delve into the permutations and combinations moving forward. Instead, Rohit affirmed that the team's goal would be to win the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"I don't know how the calculations work but we need to play the next game well and win it," Rohit added.
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