Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma concedes that batting has been the reason behind the team's inconsistent performance this season.
Rohit Sharma today said that playing with Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Premier League has benefited him a lot and he was looking forward to win the IPL title for Mumbai Indians.
"Whenever I batted with him, he came up to me and always said what I needed to do. It's a good helping hand from him. I've really benefited a lot. I've to do well whatever games left and will try to win the Cup for Mumbai Indians," Rohit said ahead of MI's match against Kolkata Knight Riders tomorrow.
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Asked if he was eyeing a berth in the Indian team for Twenty20 World Cup to be held in September in Sri Lanka, he said, "If I do well things other things will fall in place. It's still a long way to go. I'm not thinking about it at the moment."
The mentor and the disciple: Rohit Sharma (left) with Sachin Tendulkar. Pic/Suresh K.K.
The right-hander conceded that batting has been the reason behind MI's inconsistent performance this season but his side were focusing on doing well in the remaining four league matches.
"Obviously, we did not play good as a team. We didn't adapt to the conditions. Wicket was sticky and damp. But being a professional, you have to perform in any given condition. Our batting had failed simply. Our bowlers have been doing tremendous job. It's just that we did not do well as a batting unit.
"At the moment we are happy the way we are. We could have done much better as we lost a few close games. At the same time we won a few close ones. It's part and parcel of game. We still have four more quite crucial games to decide where we end up in the tournament," he said.
Rohit said his side were not looking at the points table but focusing on winning the remaining matches. "It's very important to win every game. We know where we stand. It's important to go there and perform rather than thinking about the table," he said.u00a0
u00a0"If we play good cricket we will finish up. The focus is to play some good cricket. It's not going to be easy here... We know what kind of wicket we get here so we have to get our acts together," said Rohit.
Asked about the game against KKR tomorrow, Rohit said, "They have been playing some good cricket especially very good at home. no doubt. we have to be at our best to beat. We are confident we have guys who can turn around the match. We are not thinking what they are doing."
On KKR's mystery spinner Sunil Narine, he said, "I have played a couple of times when the Windies were here. We have got a couple of West Indians in our team. With their help and guidance, we hope we can tackle him."
Terming Harbhajan Singh an aggressive skipper compared to Sachin Tendulkar's calm approach, Rohit said the ace off-spinner was doing a fine job for MI so far. "Sachin was very cool and calm we have learnt a lot under him. Bhajji is very aggressive. Everyone in the team is supporting him. We are always there to help him. He has kept the atmosphere of the dressing room very cool and calm. We just want to support him," said Rohit.
Powerful hitting may have been the key element to excel in the Twenty20 scheme of things but Rohit said batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Mahela Jawardene were doing a fine job for their respective teams playing orthodox cricket.
"If you have cricketing shots, you just need to back yourselves. If you back your ability you can do well. There is no doubt about it. There is no need of huge power. You can get runs if you time the ball well."
Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga was conspicuous by his absence at the nets today but Rohit cleared the air, saying the Lankan was given rest.
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