Losing their opening encounters in the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn’t new for Mumbai Indians. They have been through such phases in the past but have made stronger comebacks and even clinched the title. But surprisingly, they aren’t having a smooth campaign in 2022. The five-time champions have lost three games on the trot this season. With zero points in their kitty, they reeling in the bottom half of the points table.
Rohit Sharma & Co expected to go off the mark against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday. But Pat Cummins, who had just arrived after a bilateral series in Pakistan, ruined MI’s party with the joint-fastest IPL fifty. He hammered 35 runs in Daniel Sams’ over to guide KKR home with 24 balls to spare.
However, following the loss, Rohit delivered a passionate speech in the dressing room, urging his mates to show ‘slight desperation’.
“We seriously cannot be blaming individuals here. It’s all of us. We win together, we lose together. That is as simple as that for me.
I think slight desperation is required from each one of us. That desperation is very, very, very important when we play, especially in this tournament. Because oppositions are different, they come up with different plans all the time. We just need to stay ahead of them. We just need to stay on top of them. And the only way we can do that is by having that slight hunger and that desperation on the field – with the bat, with the ball.
“So, we are doing some good things. In all three games that we’ve played, we’ve done some really good things. It’s just that those little moments, and that indication, you know an individual has to understand, in that period of time when the game is happening,” said Rohit.
