The five-time champions finished the IPL 2021 at fifth position.
The five-time champions finished the IPL 2021 at fifth position. They thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 42 runs in their last league match but failed to qualify for the playoffs.
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"When you play for a franchise like Mumbai, you are always expected to perform. I wouldn't call it pressure. More than anything, it is the expectation. What we have created as a group stands out in the last 5-6 years," said Rohit during the post-match presentation ceremony.
"It was very tough to drop some players. But we had an on-and-off season. We had a fabulous run as a franchise. We can be very proud of what we have created. We were just getting into the momentum of winning games in Delhi, and then there was a break in between. Once we came here, there was a collective failure as a group," he added.
Coming to the match, MI piled up a mammoth 235/9 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of breathtaking half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (84 off 32 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (82 off 40 balls).
In reply, Sunrisers could only manage 193/8 as Jimmy Neeshan (2-28), Jasprit Bumrah (2-39), and Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-40) claimed two scalps each for MI while Trent Boult (1-30) and Piyush Chawla (1-38) chipped in with wicket apiece.
"But very happy with the win today; we gave everything, and I am sure it was entertaining for the fans too. [To the Mumbai fans] They have been the 12th man. They have always stood by us," said Rohit.
"Little disappointed we couldn't go through. Ishan Kishan is a very talented player, just the right position to bat is crucial. He just batted the way we want Ishan to," he concluded.
(With ANI inputs)