MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings registered their second win of the ongoing 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League as they thrashed Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in a one-sided ‘El Clasico’ at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. CSK’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Ajinkya Rahane played key roles in helping CSK record their second consecutive win.
With this, Mumbai Indians once again failed to open their accounts in the ongoing IPL season as they registered their second consecutive defeat. They were earlier defeated by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their season opener game by 8 wickets.
In the game against CSK, though MI started off on a bright note in both innings but they got a reality check. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan took the attack to CSK’s bowling, but Rohit was undone by the sheer brilliance of Tushar Deshpande who knocked his stumps & dismissed him on 21 runs. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers as he took 3 wickets in his 4-over spell & gave away 20 runs.
Later, CSK’s debutant and India’s Test specialist Ajinkya Rahane took the game by storm as he played one of the most memorable knocks of his career. He registered the joint-second-fastest half-century by a CSK batter.
Rohit Sharma Is Still Very Hopeful
Meanwhile, later after the match, MI captain Rohit spoke about the team’s performance. He pointed out that they won’t chop & change immediately and made it clear that the players would be given more chances.
Rohit Sharma emphasized the fact that MI has won 5 tournaments & can’t be written off just after 2 games. He said:
“We lost our way in the middle, did not capitalise on the start we got. It was a good pitch, 30-40 runs short and could not capitalise in the middle overs. Got to credit their spinners, they bowled well and kept us under pressure. You need to try out different things, you need to attack and be brave,”
He added: “We have got a couple of young guys and got to give some time to them. They have real talent and we have to back them and show trust in their ability which we are doing. The senior guys need to step up starting with me. We know the nature of IPL, when the tournament starts we need to get some momentum and when you don’t it is tough. Just two games and all is not lost still. If you win, you can win a few on the trot and when you lose it is hard to come out of that momentum. Hopefully things start to change,”
