MI suffered a narrow five-run loss at the hands of LSG while chasing the target of 178.
Chasing 178 to win, MI got off to a fantastic start as the duo of Ishan Kishan (59) and Rohit Sharma (37) added 90 runs for the opening wicket.
Once the partnership was broken, the five-time champions suffered a collapse and slumped to 145/5 as the likes of Suryakumar Yadav (7), Nehal Wadhera (16) and Vishnu Vinod (2) failed to make a mark with the bat.
While Tim David produced a stunning cameo of 32* in 19 balls, it was not enough to take MI over the finishing line.
“We didn't play well enough to win the game. There were little moments in the game that we didn't win unfortunately,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We assessed the pitch really well and it was a good pitch to bat on and that score was definitely chaseable and we lost our way in the second half of the innings. We gave too many runs at the back end and the last three overs went for a few. But the way we started with the bat we were in a good position to chase, but like I said we lost our way in the second half,” he added.
Earlier, LSG rode on Marcus Stoinis’ whirlwind 89* off 47 balls to post 177/3 on the board and the MI captain was effusive in praise of the all-rounder’s knock.
“He (Stoinis) played really well, kept hitting straight which is what you need to do on a pitch like this. It was a brilliant knock from him,” Rohit stated.
Mumbai Indians had an opportunity to inch closer to the IPL 2023 playoffs with a win over LSG but the defeat puts them in a spot of bother. They now face a must-win situation against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (May 21).
“Not sure how the calculation (about the points and NRR) will work, but we need to come out and play some good cricket in our last game (against SRH),” Rohit concluded.