"At Wankhede, you need one or two brilliant performances, but....," Rohit Sharma points out key difference between Chepauk, Wankhede Stadium
May 25, 2023
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 25 : Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma highlighted the key difference between Wankhede Stadium and the MA Chidambaram Stadium after their dominant victory against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Eliminator on Thursday.
Rohit believes that while playing at their home ground one or two brilliant performances are sufficient to clinch victory. This factor was clearly visible in their 27-run victory against Gujarat Titans on 12th May. Suryakumar's scintillating unbeaten knock of 103* stirred up the blue sea present in the stands of the Wankhede Stadium.
However, the Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan almost managed to silence the entire stadium as his intention was to send the ball flying into the stands. A single knock at the end could have been enough to knock MI out of the race of the IPL 2023 playoffs.
"At Wankhede, you need one or two brilliant performances, but here it is a different ball game. As a team, we enjoyed it (fielding). Good to see everyone contributing on the field. Coming to Chennai, we knew the whole team needs to come to the party," Rohit Sharma said after the match.
In contrast to their approach at Wankhede, MI had to put up a collective effort to keep their hopes of a sixth IPL title alive.
LSG had a certain amount of confidence as they walked into the vibrant atmosphere of Chepauk. They had previously walked away with a victory on 16th May.
This time MI defied the odds and pulled off a masterclass with the bat as well as the ball to stay alive in the tournament.
"That is what we have done over the years. People don't expect us to do what we have done, but we managed to."
While batting first, MI registered a competitive score of 182/8. Cameron Green (41) and Suryakumar Yadav's (33) kept MI's swift flow of run intact. On the other hand, LSG's middle-order collapse was enough to end their campaign on a bitter note. The Lucknow franchise bundled out on a score of 101 which allowed MI to make their way into the Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
