Lack of big partnerships was the main reason for Mumbai Indians’ loss to Lucknow Super Giants, skipper Rohit Sharma said after his side fell short by 18 runs to LSG’s total of 199.

This defeat sees them stuck at the last position in the points table, having lost all their six games till now. The five-time champions remain the only winless team of the tournament and are all but out of the playoff race.

As many as four Mumbai Indians batters scored 25 or more runs but none managed to go past 40. With no one anchoring through the innings, and LSG bowlers striking regularly, MI were always behind in the chase.

“Hard to point out one particular situation, when you are chasing a total we need big partnerships, something we failed to do today,” Rohit Sharma said.

Another question that’s been raised is why didn’t Jasprit Bumrah bowl with the new ball; the ace speedster was called upon only in the third over.

Rohit Sharma explained the reason for this: “There’s no particular reason to it, we try and put team before the individual. They bat quite deep and it is important to hold your key bowlers towards the back end. We always try and keep Bumrah for the back end and it didn’t seem to work out. He bowled pretty well but the others just need to pull up their socks a little bit.”

Rohit Sharma also admitted that they haven’t been able to find a balanced, winning combination so far.

“Every game we play is an opportunity, we try and think what our best playing XI which is best suited for the particular conditions and particular team. We lost 6 games now, we are trying to understand what our right combination is, but it all depends on the opposition that we play. When you lose games it is very easy to point out that changes are being made but we try and go with our best eleven,” he added.

Rohit Sharma himself has been in unpleasant form with the bat this season, managing 114 runs in 6 innings. The opener conceded not giving the starts and the platform that his side needs from him.

“I’m trying to prepare myself in the way I prepare for every game, that is no different. It’s not coming off, I take the full responsibility of not putting the team in the situation of what they expect from me. I back myself to go out there and enjoy the game and doing what I have been doing all these years. It’s important to keep looking forward. It’s not the end of the world, we have come back before and we will try and comeback again,” Rohit Sharma concluded.