Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has heaped praise on Rohit Sharma after the veteran opener delivered a commanding performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium. Rohit pulverised KKR's bowling attack to slam a decisive knock of 78 runs off 38 balls. In his impressive knock, he blasted six boundaries and six sixes to play a match-winning knock. Moreover, Rohit looked effortless, executing his shots with effective timing.
"He came from the first day of the camp. He was very focused. He was fresh. I think after so many years, I've had him from day one of the camp. He played some really good matches practise games. We had a lot of simulations for him, especially to get him going. I was quite happy the way he was hitting the ball. I thought he batted brilliantly," Jayawardene said at the press conference.
"It has freed him up. He is thinking much calmer. He is not the leader; less pressure on him. This happens; it happened to me as well in my last few years when I went and played franchise cricket," Mahela said.
"You practice less, but your muscle memory works and you just go with the flow. You know what the bowlers are trying to do, and once you are in that mode, you have that freedom which we noticed in Rohit in the last couple of years. We encourage him to go and do that. I am quite happy about it," he stated.
Rohit Sharma stitched a 148-run opening partnership with Ryan Rickelton, who smashed 81 off 43, blasting eight sixes. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians went over the line with three balls to spare, sealing a six-wicket win. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, after being asked to bat, piled up 220/4 in 20 overs, with captain Ajinkya Rahane leading from the front with 67 off 40 balls. Angkrish Raghuvanshi was one of the other standout performers for KKR, hitting a magnificent 51 off 29. Opener Finn Allen also starred with a scintillating 37 off 17 to complement Rahane and help the side lay the foundation for a massive total.
"It is brilliant. It was a good wicket, and they (KKR) got 220. I think we were bit poor in execution. I think we gave away 20 runs extra. The way Rohit and Ryan batted, it was exquisite to watch… brilliant execution. That was the game plan, and these two guys batted really well," he said.