‘Teamwork key to Mumbai success’
CHAMPIONS Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma cited unity, teamwork and intelligence as the qualities that helped them make the difference
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma iterated after Sunday’s one-run win over Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL final that he believes in farming success collectively. Individual brilliance can win a team some games but to win a championship that comprises 40-over games, a side would need concerted effort from all.
“Team unity, teamwork and intelligence — personally, I believe they are all critical. That’s what we spoke about at the start of the tournament,” said Rohit after winning their third IPL title.
“In the three titles we won, we probably had one batsman in the top five in the first two (2013, 2015) and none in that bracket this time.
“That’s a little sad but it also shows that different individuals have come and taken the responsibility. That was the difference; guys stepped up and performed. We never relied on one individual to win us the game.”
That wasn’t where the long explanation ended.
“Today was the perfect example. The bowling unit came together. We’ve got a few youngsters, a few inexperienced players and a few legends in our bowling unit.
“It was a combination and we jelled nicely. When you are playing on a slow pitch, it’s important to believe you can defend any target when you are fielding. That was the talk when we came into the change room after our poor batting display.
“We played our last game (the second qualifier) probably against one of the better batting units in the tournament, KKR, and bowled them out for 107. Why can’t we do it here? The guys knew the challenge and rose to the occasion,” he said.
Rohit said he felt five bowlers are integral to a winning combination in T20s.
“Hardik (Pandya) and Krunal (Pandya) give us that balance because of the way they bat and bowl. Hardik probably hasn’t bowled much because our five bowlers have delivered consistently,” he said.
On Krunal Pandya, who scored 47 and went for less than eight an over, Rohit said: “Krunal did a brilliant job. I think both Pandya brothers have something special in them.”
“When you see them on the field, they are so excited to play the game, they show their emotion. They want to contribute in Sixes hit in IPL 10, a jump of 67 from last year’s 638. some or the other way. They contribute in fielding as well which is such a critical part in this format. They try and create an impact,” Rohit said.
“Krunal has become mature now. Last year, he was quite nervous to start with. But now he knows that he is a core member of the squad; he just goes out and plays freely.
“He’s got no pressure. Of course, if you drop the catch there is a chance of bowling those good overs and taking the pressure off and that is exactly what he did,” Rohit said.
It’s a hard one to swallow. I am proud of the way the boys played. It wasn’t the fairy tale finish we wanted.
I prepared well before the tournament and the results came. It’s a dream come true to be Man of the Match in the final. To be able to defend a score like this was brilliant. I told the boys if we could do it against KKR (105) there was no way we couldn’t do it here. Just wanted to make sure they weren’t hitting through the leg and luckily got Smithy to hit it into the off side.
We were behind. From the first over we were behind and the way Mitch bowled the last over was just perfect. NUMBERED