Mumbai Indians will be aiming at staying alive in the race for a final berth in the 2023 Indian Premier League, when they take on the Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator match on Wednesday night. MI had dramatically sealed a place in the playoffs on the final day of the league phase; after they won their last league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Royal Challengers Bangalore – who were also in the hunt of playoff berth – lost in their last game to Gujarat Titans.
For MI, Rohit Sharma’s form had been a cause of worry for the fans. In the ongoing edition, Rohit has scored 313 runs so far in 14 matches; while he didn’t make a strong start to the season, Rohit’s performances in the last few games have ignited hope among the fans for the opener’s comeback to run-scoring. In the side’s previous game, Rohit had scored a quickfire 56 off just 37 balls, as MI chased down a 201-run target with two overs to spare.
Ahead of MI’s clash against LSG in the eliminator, former India spinner Murali Kartik had made a massive remark on Rohit’s batting; Kartik stated that he would never agree with the claim that Rohit can be “out of form.”
“I’ll never admit that Rohit Sharma can go out of form. I’ve said this thousand times, it never looks like that. He can hit a six on the first ball… he isn’t out of form, he is out of runs. The way he thinks is wrong, his approach is wrong. He was scoring runs, so he’s not out of form,” Kartik told Cricbuzz.
“He has a presence. He is the captain, and he has an aura. He commands his men, he is a leader. Every captain makes mistakes, yesterday we saw Hardik Pandya committing mistakes as well — maybe Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya were thinking differently. Likewise, Rohit can also make mistakes, but the post that he commands is different. Okay, he has scored 313 runs, but some players perform in big games,” Kartik further stated.
In the eliminator match, Rohit had won the toss and opted to bat in Chennai.
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