Mumbai Indians (MI) are playing a must-win encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede stadium.
With 14 points in 13 games, Mumbai need to win this last match and reach 16 points in order to stay alive in the playoff race. RCB, who have 14 points in 13 matches, will host Gujarat Titans later in the evening. If RCB win they will go through, but there is a chance of the RCB vs GT match getting washed out. If the RCB vs GT game is washed out, and MI win against SRH, then MI will go through to the playoffs.
However, in such a crucial, must-win game, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma perhaps made the wrong decision at the toss.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first
This would have been a perfectly acceptable decision by Rohit Sharma had this MI vs SRH match been a night game. However, it was a day game at the Wankhede. So the decision to bowl first in a day game was met with questions and skepticism from fans and commentators.
Before the toss the commentators had been talking about how batting first in a day game helps the batters as the bowlers and fielders have to field in the heat and then come out to bat in the evening at around 5.30 PM when the ball does something under lights.
After Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first, the commentators and fans had their eyebrows raised at this decision, wondering whether Rohit Sharma had made an error. It is not to forget that MI are coming off a loss in a chase against Lucknow Super Giants.
The decision of Rohit Sharma to bowl first looked more and more wrong as the SRH openers Mayank Agarwal and Vivrant Sharma got off to a flier. There was no swing movement available for the MI pacers in the afternoon and this allowed the SRH openers to pounce of MI bowlers.
Agarwal and Vivrant put on a terrific partnership of 140 runs in 13.5 overs to lay down a platform for the rest of the batters. After Agarwal got out in the 17th over, however, MI pacers made a good comeback to restrict SRH to 200. This could still prove just enough in a must-win game for MI, and Rohit’s decision at the toss could come back to haunt them.
