Skipper Rohit Sharma on Friday (October 8) weighed in on Mumbai Indians’ (MI) disappointing IPL 2021 campaign, saying that the postponement of the league in May this year hampered the rhythm of his team.

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)