06 May,2026 09:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Justin Langer. Pic/IPL
Despite his team's six-wicket defeat to the hosts at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, LSG head coach Justin Langer couldn't stop praising opener MI Rohit Sharma for his match-winning abilities.
Rohit (44-ball 84) and Ryan Rickelton's (32-ball 83) 143-run opening stand gave the hosts a fine start as they easily chased down the 229-run target with eight balls to spare.
"What a player, what a player, what a player! I always knew, as an opposition player with the Australian team, and now as an opposition player with LSG, what a player he [Rohit] is. And this is the brilliance of the IPL, that every night, we watch some of the greatest talent on earth," Langer said at the post-match press conference on Monday night.
Rohit, 39, started slowly before changing gears in the last over of the Powerplay, smashing pacer Avesh Khan for 21 runs with two sixes and as many fours.
"Don't worry about Rohit batting slowly at the start, it's genius because he had Rickelton at the other end going like a steam train. So that's a great partnership - very experienced batting from a wise old head," added Langer, going on to defend his own captain Rishabh Pant, who scored a 10-ball 15 in the team's straight sixth defeat in the tournament.
"I don't think the money [Pant's auction price of Rs 27 crore] has anything to do with it [performance]. What I do think is that leadership is a tough position and he's carrying a lot of pressure for the team. But he's chipping away, he's working hard, and he has had a match-winning game earlier in the season," Langer added.
