Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma felt his side’s convincing win against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 in Bengaluru was the hallmark of his side’s bench strength, with individuals stepping up despite key players suffering injuries during the tournament,
“That’s been the hallmark of this team, we’re not dependent on one individual,” Rohit Sharma said. “We have been doing doing that regularly”
“We deserve to be in the final. We played a great game today as we have been for much of the tournament.
Mumbai easily defeated Kolkata to set up the final with Rising Pune Supergiant. Sent into bat, Gautam Gambhir’s side were bowled out for 107 runs in 18.5 balls, and Mumbai chased down the target with 33 balls to spare at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“[The win] Gives you a lot of confidence, bowlers set the day for us. Taking wickets at regular intervals and keeping the score under control. Karn Sharma was brilliant and set the victory for us,” Sharma said.
Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with excellent figures of 3/7, was handed the new ball for the first time. Sharma said that it was a gamble that his side took, taking into account Kolkata’s hitters at the top of the order,
“We have been talking about it [Handing Bumrah the new ball] and KKR have a top-heavy batting order. I tried to execute what I was told and sometimes, I take decisions according to instinct too,” he said.
Mumbai have lost three times against Rising Pune Supergaint during the season and India’s limited-overs opener opined that the conditions at Hyderabad will go on to play a big part in the summit event,
“RPS have been playing some good cricket. Hyderabad is a different venue and we have not had a good history with them recently. Just one more hurdle,” Sharma said.