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Rohit Sharma hammered 76 runs from 45 balls for the Mumbai Indians on Sunday, and for his super show with the bat against Chennai Super Kings, he also won the Player of the Match award.
Rohit Sharma scored 76 runs for MI against CSK. (Picture Credit: AP)
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was full of praise for star opening batter Rohit Sharma on Sunday (April 20) after he scored 76 runs from 45 balls with the help of four fours and six sixes for MI and helped them chase down the target of 177 runs in just 15.4 overs for the loss of one wicket against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025 played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
According to the 31-year-old cricketer from Baroda, who replaced Rohit as MI captain in December 2023, he was not worried about the 37-year-old right-handed batter’s form because he knew the day Rohit finds his form, the opposition team will have no chance in the game.
“The way I think we are playing the sport, we knew it was going to be a high-scoring game, and we took the percentage. The way Rohit & Suryakumar bat, it’s a relief from outside. You don’t have to worry about Rohit’s form; when he comes good, we know the opposition will be out of the game, and the way Surya batted, it was great as well; that partnership took the game away,” Hardik said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We are sticking to basics. We are playing simple cricket, and we are sticking to our plans. In hindsight, yes, the fast bowlers did go for some runs, but at the end of the day, 175-180 was below par. I think we weren’t really far away from a win, but we had to put things together,” he added.
Rohit, after coming in as an impact player, added 63 runs in 6.4 overs for the first wicket with wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton (24 from 19 balls) and then stitched a 114-run stand for the second wicket with Suryakumar Yadav.
Surya was also on fire for MI in the 177-run chase. He faced 30 balls during his stay at the crease against Chennai Super Kings and, with the help of six fours and five sixes, scored 68 runs. The 68-run knock on Sunday helped Surya extend his tally of runs to 333 in the IPL this year, and he now sits at the No. 3 position in the list of leading run-getters.
