IPL 13: Nice to have Hardik, Pollard in form, says Rohit Sharma

A late onslaught by Hardik and Pollard powered Mumbai Indians to post a mammoth total of 191 runs. Mumbai defeated KXIP by 48 runs on the back of an all-round bowling performance. James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah

Abu Dhabi [UAE], October 2 (ANI): After defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 48 runs, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma praised Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard for their spectacular performance with the bat.

A late onslaught by Hardik and Pollard powered Mumbai Indians to post a mammoth total of 191 runs. Mumbai defeated KXIP by 48 runs on the back of an all-round bowling performance.
James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rahul Chahar picked three wickets each while Trent Boult and Krunal Pandya scalped one.

Rohit, who smashed 70 runs off 45 balls, was pleased with the overall “batting performance” of the team. The right-handed batsman said the side knew that taking early wickets was the key and they did that only.

“Was a great win. We didn’t start really well, but we knew, the kind of attack Punjab has, we wanted to capitalise on that towards the back end. Hardik and Pollard back themselves to get those runs in the end,” said Rohit during the post-match presentation via host broadcaster Star Sports.

“They (Hardik and Pollard) have done that on many occasions. It is nice to have them in form. Overall very happy with the batting performances. we knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the ball. We knew taking early wickets was crucial. We did that,” he added.
In the match, Rohit became the third batsman to register 5,000 runs in the Indian Premier League.

“The captain looks good when the bowlers execute plans well. Feels good to get to 5000 runs. I didn’t look much into it. Winning the game was more important,” said Rohit.
Mumbai Indians will next lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.