An elated Rohit Sharma, captain of Mumbai Indians which won the IPL trophy on Sunday night, said that team work, unity and intelligence were the key elements responsible for the team’s success.
“Individual brilliance can win you a few games. But, what is required to win this championship are these things,” Rohit said after the title-triumph.
“All three titles are special for me for different reasons. If you look at the first two titles we won, we probably had one batsman in the top five [leading run-getters]. We didn’t have [even] one batsman in the top-five this time which is a little bit sad, but that goes to show that different individuals have come up at different times and taken up responsibility. That is the hallmark of this team, especially this year,” the captain said.
“We’ve never relied on one individual to win us the game. We got a few youngsters, a few inexperienced players and a few legends in our bowling unit. It was a combination of both, and we gelled quite nicely. We mixed it up nicely,” he said.
Rohit admitted that they didn’t apply themselves well when batting first and ending up with a meagre 129. “Our target was between 140 and 160. If we had tried to overreach to 180, then you could’ve been bowled out for 120,” Rohit said. “So, our talk was that we try and make 140 so we may even get to 160 which on this wicket would’ve been a match-winning score, as you saw,” he added.
Slow wicket
“When you are playing on a slow pitch, it’s important to believe you can defend any target when you are fielding. So, when we came into the change room after our poor batting display, we spoke about the last game against KKR, one of the better batting units in the tournament. We bowled them out for 107. Why can’t we do it here again? The guys knew the challenge and rose to the occasion,” Rohit said.
“But again, these things can happen, sometimes you are so nervous you try and overdo it. During the break we had after six overs (when Pune was batting), we just got together and asked everyone to be calm. You can’t come and play your shots, it’s such a slow wicket. We always had that belief that things can change anytime,” Rohit said.
Mumbai Indians captain said it had to stay in the game for 20 overs irrespective of whether there was a partnership for 10 overs or whatever.
“A wicket here or things can change. When we defend a low target, it is important for the fielders to create the pressure. So, the message was clear. Be calm and don’t overdo things. That’s what exactly happened. We squeezed in and spinners came in and bowled those dot balls to make them play big shots. That’s where they made mistakes,” he said.
“We always knew we had a great backup in Johnson for the injured Mitchell McClenaghan. A proven match-winner. He has done it for Australia and MI as well. He has been in this situation before. I could happily rely on him when I needed the most,” the captain said.
“The last over was very crucial. We (with Johnson) discussed about not giving space to Smith to play his strokes and it was a fantastic catch by Rayudu under pressure,” Rohit said.
“I feel that Malinga and Bumrah are the best ‘death’ bowlers in this IPL. In fact, the ageing bowlers delivered when needed, bringing all their experience and credit should go to Shane Bond too (bowling coach).
“Eventually, it was all about not just planning, but execution and I think we just did that to win the title,” Rohit said.
