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Mumbai Indians stalwart Rohit Sharma received praise from Nita Ambani and Akash Ambani after the veteran opener smashed a brilliant 81 off 50 in IPL Eliminator.
Akash Ambani and Nita Ambani applaud Rohit Sharma (right) during IPL Eliminator. (Screengrab/JioHotstar)
Rohit Sharma received a standing ovation from Mumbai Indians owners Nita Ambani and Akash Ambani after his match-winning blitz in the Indian Premier League Eliminator clash on Friday. After a topsy-turvy campaign, Rohit reserved his best for the must-win encounter against the Gujarat Titans and hammered 81 off 50 deliveries in his team’s magnificent triumph in Mullanpur.
The former captain overcame question marks raised on his form with a vintage innings full of elegant strokeplay. Rohit hit 9 fours and 4 sixes, going at a strike rate of 162 to take the stings out of the Titans’ bowling unit.
The 38-year-old was hailed by his teammates and fans watching from the stands with the Ambanis also applauding the MI stalwart.
The moment came as Rohit was dismissed after his glorious knock in the 17th over.
Rohit enjoyed a slice of luck earlier in the innings, getting dropped twice.
The experienced batter made the Titans pay with an exhibition of quality strokeplay during critical partnerships with fellow opener Jonny Bairstow (47) and No.3 Suryakumar Yadav (33).
Once Rohit departed, Tilak Varma (25) and skipper Hardik Pandya (22*) played handy cameos to take their side to an imposing 228/5.
In response, GT could only reach 208/6 despite fantastic knocks from Sai Sudharsan (80) and Washington Sundar (48) and crashed out of the title race, handing MI a berth in the Qualifier 2 on Sunday where they will face Punjab Kings.
During his knock, Rohit achieved a special feat, becoming only the second player in the history of the IPL to reach 7,000 runs after Royal Challengers Bengaluru legend Virat Kohli.
Rohit also received the Player of the Match award for his special knock in a do-or-die face-off and spoke about his season of mixed bag, admitting he would’ve liked to be more consistent.
“I have got only four fifties. Would have loved to score more fifties. Good day for us as a team. I understand the importance of playing this Eliminator and going through it, taking the next step forward. Proud of a complete team effort. When I play the game, I try to do my best to keep everything aside. Ensuring I can effectively contribute to the team’s work. I had to make the most of the luck. I am glad I could do that. Get the team into a good position,” Rohit said.
- Location :
Chandigarh, India, India
- First Published:
