IPL 8: We treated every game as a final, says MI skipper Rohit Sharma

Kolkata Written off after four losses on the trot to start with in the IPL Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma today said their revival and the subsequent title triumph was triggered by the belief that every game was his teams finalAfter suffering five losses from their first six matches Sharma and co showed tremendous resilience winning seven of their last eight matches to finish second in the league and in the first qualifier they beat Chennai Super KingsViewPhotos Mumbai Indians paint Eden Gardens blue after IPL 8 title winRohit Sharma lifts the trophy with Jagmohan Dalmiya Pic PTIPitted against familiar foes CSK in the summit clash against whom they have played all their three finals MI capped the turnaround brilliantly thrashing Mahendra Singh Dhonis yellow brigade by 41 runs to win their second title at the Eden Gardens last nightAlso ReadIPL 8 Dhoni criticises inadequatelywatered Eden wicketTo be honest there was no gamechanging instance for us We did not have any instance like that we knew the moment we would lose we would be out of the tournament and we treated every game as a final as it was our last game Sharma told the post match news conferenceCrediting their coach and twotime World Cup winning Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting for guiding him through Sharma said hes relishing his captaincy Ponting has played a huge part He has come and helped me a lot in terms of captaincy He has been such a great captain for Australia He brings that experience to the table Even when we won the title in 2013 he was not playing he guided us through and was very much part of our team He was there to helpBasically I try to keep it simple I stick to my strengths and listen to myself a lot on the field and go by my instincts on the field The planning strategy we did for two months really seemed to be working well He also showered praise on the teams support staff for standing up to the challenge and deliver when it mattered mostThere were times when were not winning games As a captain it was important to keep the team stay together and let it not drift away We knew we would have it our way when we do our basics right we have got guys who can individually turn the game It was a matter of putting it together and we did that perfectlyI have very good teammates a good bunch of guys who are willing to take up the challenge and perform At any given point when were in trouble the guys took up the challenge and put it across the opposition This is all it required to win a tournament You try and win those little moments and we did well Sharma saidCredit to each one of us and not just the 11 players Its the whole squad who deserves a lot of credit The support staff also put a lot of efforts behind the scene and some of them get unnoticed he said hailing their nineman support that included team icon Sachin TendulkarThe MI skipper said he loved to bat first and take the attack to opposition in big matches and skipper Dhonis call for bowling first after winning the toss was a welcome sign It was a good toss to lose When MS said he would like to bowl first I was little happy inside Its a big game you want to put runs on the board and put pressure on opposition That exactly what happened In big games you would like to do that thats my preferenceSharma who also has an IPL century against KKR a world record ODI score of 264 and a debut Test hundred at the Eden looked in full flow after he came with MI at 11 in the first overThe MI skipper hit a 26ball 50 while Lendl Simmons slammed a 45ball 68 as their 119 run partnership from 67 balls set them up for a huge 2025 the second highest total in an IPL finalSharma said they never went in eyeing a 200plus total We just batted normally It was always important to have partnership with wickets in hand and get the momentum We wanted to bat normally and at the same time we wanted to be aggressive as well Our partnership was important as later on Rayudu and Pollard finished off wellThings may not be going well for the CSK skipper Dhoni but Sharma backed the Indian World Cup winning captain and said hes a champion Theres a certain way he goes about his batting He has been a great match winner for CSK and India The situation was probably not right today as he wouldhave expected more from the openers You should give credit to our bowlers for the way they restricted them as CSK didnt get off to a good start and it always becomes difficult when you lose wickets