Rickelton Hails Rohit As "One of India's Greatest" After MI's Thrilling Win Over LSG

After missing five matches due to hamstring injury, Rohit, known lovingly as 'Mumbai cha Raja' (The King of Mumbai), put on a batting display befitting a batting icon like him, chasing down a massive 229 set by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with six wickets in hand, unleashing some brutal hitting in tandem with opener Ryan Rickelton, scoring 84 in just 44 balls, with six fours and seven sixes.

Speaking after the match, 'Player of the Match' Rickelton said about the partnership and batting with Rohit for MI, "One of Mumbai's greatest, one of India's greatest. I really enjoy spending time out there. We are fortunate to get the wickets here. The Wankhede has been really good. And we have been able to dovetail quite nicely and put bowlers under pressure at the right times and help each other out along the way."

Rickelton said that the Wankhede wicket, with its fine pace and the way the ball flies into the stands, offers a great value for shots. He also spoke on massive chases being done in the IPL and how having important starts with the bat is the key.

"The IPL is ridiculous in the way that these chases are being done nowadays. Like Surya (Suryakumar) said, I heard him saying, if you have a good start, it just sets the platform. And I think that is the trend in this team. We might not have lived up to it so far this year, but the power that we have from number 3 down to 7, 8, 9, the batters and the class and the caliber we have is through the roof. So I know that if we can set a good platform, we win the powerplay, I do not want to say my job is done, but with the class that we have lined up behind, it makes my role a lot clearer for me," he added.

Skipper Suryakumar said that after a fine start from LSG batters, it felt like nothing new to MI, who have found themselves in such situations plenty of time this season and said that during the overs seven to 10 during the middle-overs phase, bowlers can pull back things, something which MI did by getting Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh in the ninth over.

"The way all the bowlers responded, I think they showed a lot of character. (on getting back into the game) I think about 8-9 overs, they were 110 or 120 for 1 or 2. I do not really remember. But then from there, pulling it to 162 for 5 in 16 overs, I think the performance was unbelievable. Everyone had that belief; they had their clear plans. I did not tell them anything. It was just little, little backing involved in a few situations. But then at the end of the day, the way they displayed their character and the way they bowled, I think commendable," he added.

On the run-chase, he pointed out how they had scored 240-odd at the same venue against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which the Orange franchise chased successfully and how it made the team believe that 229 was chaseable.

"The way we started our batting, Ryan Rickelton, he has been batting beautifully. And as I said, at the toss, our very own Rohit Sharma coming back into the side, fit, ready, raring to go. And the way he displayed, the way he showed the entertainment to the crowd, I think it was unbelievable. (on the opening stand) See, I think it IS always important to have a good start when you're chasing 200-225. And the way they batted together, it looked they were always in control. What team required from them, they did the same thing. And then at the end, the way Naman Dhir and everyone batted, I think it was nice," he signed off.

MI are at the ninth spot with three wins and seven losses, while LSG are at the bottom with two wins and seven losses.

MI opted to bowl first and knocks from Nicholas Pooran (63 in 21 balls, with a four and eight sixes), Mitchell Marsh (44 in 25 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Himmat Singh (40* in 31 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took LSG to 228/5. However, a stand of 143 runs between Rickelton (83 in 32 balls, with six fours and eight sixes) and Rohit (84 in 44 balls, with six fours and seven sixes) helped MI make a light work of the chase and completed the chase in 18.4 overs.

- ANI