Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma was all praise for his team's "absolutely perfect" showing in the victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 1 this Thursday (November 5) to directly enter the IPL 2020 final.
The defending champions posted a huge total of 200/5 on the back of superlative knocks from Quinton de Kock (40), Suryakumar Yadav (51), Ishan Kishan (55*) and Hardik Pandya (37*). They then restricted the opposition batting line-up to just 143/8 with Jasprit Bumrah (4/14) and Trent Boult (2/9) dominating the proceedings in the second half.
"You have got to give credit to our guys, the way they turned up at the game, putting runs on the board, and getting those early breakthroughs was so much important," said Rohit at the post-match press conference in Dubai, as quoted by PTI.
"Our bowling has been terrific through the tournament; they have put pressure on the opposition right from the beginning. It was good to see the overall performance of the team, the way we played today was absolutely perfect," he added.
The skipper lauded Suryakumar and De Kock for the way they batted after his very early departure and laid the groundwork for Kishan and Hardik to take advantage of.
"Surya has been in terrific form and is a very crucial player for us at number three. Having lost a wicket in the second over, we were slightly put back but the way Quinton (De Kock) and Surya created that partnership with that momentum which was important," said Rohit.
"Surya is someone who is very positive and clear in his thought process on how he wants to bat and we back his skills and thought process."
"And every time he has come in to bat, if the early wicket has fallen, he has come and taken the pressure away from the team and the batter that he is batting with," he added.
Hardik's belligerence at the death is also something Rohit took special note of.
"He came and started playing his shots which came off really well, some superb shots against a quality attack, so (that) shows the kind of form he is in," he said.
Bumrah's impactful spell earned him the 'Man of the Match' award and also the Purple cap.
"When you have bowlers like that, it makes life very easy for the captain," said Rohit, chuffed with the overall display.
