With an eye on the future, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday said they are looking to try out as many players as possible before concluding what has been a forgettable campaign for the five-time IPL champions.
MI suffered their 10th defeat of the ongoing season after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by three runs.
Chasing 194 for victory, the MI innings ended at 190 for seven.
Asked about the Mumbai bowling at the presentation ceremony, Rohit said, "We wanted to try a few things keeping one eye on the future. We wanted to try out certain guys to bowl under pressure in certain situations of the game.
“I thought they batted pretty well to get to 193 but the way we pulled things back at the back end was a great effort.” When asked about the season’s last game, the MI skipper said, “For us it’s pretty simple. We just want to tick off the boxes, finish off on a high note if possible.”
"We will try everything we can from our side to put our best foot forward in the last game. If there is an opportunity to try out some more guys, we will look to do that too." Rohit (48) was at his effortless best and looked set for a big score. He gave a solid start to Mumbai's chase alongside Ishan Kishan (43), with whom he shared a 95-run opening stand.
The two plundered 17 runs in the ninth over bowled by Malik, with the pacer guilty of bowling two no balls and a wide.
But two overs later, Kane Williamson's decision to bowl Washington Sundar (1/36) paid dividends as Rohit holed out to Jagadeesha Suchith in the deep. Then, Tim David smashed his way to 46 off just 18 balls before being run out as MI fell short.
"Till about the second to last over, I thought we had it. Unfortunate run out of Tim David but we thought we were very much in the game till that run out. Even 19 runs to go with two overs, you would back yourself to get that but unfortunately we couldn't do it.
"Credit to Sunrisers to hold their nerve. It was a very tense moment and they held their nerve very well at the back end," Rohit said.
"We were not consistent with the ball up front and that can happen. But I thought it was a great effort towards the back end. With the bat, we came pretty close but couldn't finish it off." Sunrisers bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled a wicket-maiden in the 19th over, said he was looking to bowl yorkers.
"I was just looking to bowl the Yorkers because I know even if I miss, there's a less chance that it may not go for a boundary. I knew if I gave a boundary then we may be under pressure but I was just looking to stick to the yorker.
On his bowling through the season, the senior seamer said, "I'm pretty satisfied the way I've bowled this season." Delighted with Bhuvneshwar's brilliant penultimate over, SRH skipper Kane Williamson said, "Our death bowling has been a strength of ours and Bhuvi's one of the top death bowlers of the tournament. His contribution today and to bowl a maiden is an amazing contribution and match winning moment really." Williamson also praised the efforts of Rahul Tripathi (76), Priyam Garg (42) and Umran Malik (3/23), while expressing his relief at getting a much-needed win.
"Nice to break the streak. But also nice to win the wrestle. Had a few games where momentum wasn't on our side and we couldn't wrestle it back. All in all a very good performance and a lot of learning to come out of it," Williamson said.
