Pushed into batting first, Mumbai Indians crumbled to 48/4 after which to 123/7 at one stage, trying in peril of being shot out for a below-par whole. But Varma stood tall and impressed everybody together with his ability and temperament in hitting 9 boundaries and 4 sixes at a strike-rate of 182.6, as Mumbai received 69 runs from the final 5 overs.
“Didn’t have a great start but was a good effort from Tilak at the end. But the bowlers didn’t bowl well. We didn’t bat well enough, it was a good pitch. Some of the shorts he played today, he showed a lot of courage.
We wanted to be courageous enough, and hats off to Tilak for getting us to the total. Was a good pitch to bat on. We did not bat to our potential. 30-40 runs would have been ideal. We were struggling to play the catch-up game,” mentioned Rohit within the post-match presentation ceremony.
With the ball, Mumbai’s bowlers had been everywhere as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis smashed half-centuries in a 148-run opening partnership. Though they received two wickets, it was too late by then to keep away from a loss of their opening match of IPL 2023.
Rohit refused to make use of the absence of Jasprit Bumrah as a motive behind lacklustre bowling efficiency.
“For the past six-eight months I am used to playing without Bumrah. We can’t control things which we can’t control. The other guys are also talented. A lot of the guys haven’t played IPL before. First game of the season, a lot to look forward to,” he mentioned.
Du Plessis, who was named Player of the Match for his 73 off 43 balls, together with 5 fours and 6 sixes, felt nice in taking part in an element in making a contented homecoming for RCB.
“It’s awesome to play (in M Chinnaswamy Stadium). It’s my first time playing here as a home player, especially batting with Virat Kohli. You have to try and stay with the youngsters. I try to push the old hamstrings so that I can move in the field. To start the campaign with a bang, was huge,” the RCB skipper mentioned.
Faf was additionally appreciative of the bowlers for ratting Mumbai’s top-order batters in power-play.
“It was a nice way to start the way we did in the powerplay. Siraj with his tail up is a beautiful thing. The bowler stuck to their task,” he mentioned.
“The last two or three overs were a bit of learning. The cutters were working really well, it was not easy to hit the ball. There was value for your shots. Credit to the groundsman. Even the spinners found something,” he added.
(With inputs from IANS)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com