Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 49 of IPL 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Asked to bat first, MI posted a below-par 139/8 on the board. Nehal Wadhera waged a lone battle with the bat, scoring 64 off 51 balls.

In reply, the Super Kings overhauled the target in 17.4 overs, with key contributions from Devon Conway (44), Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) and Shivam Dube (26*).

Speaking after the game, MI skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged that they failed as a batting unit against the four-time IPL winner.

“Our batters didn’t put up enough runs. We had an off-day as a batting unit," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Rohit also explained his decision to change the batting order, citing that it was due to Tilak Verma’s unavailability.

“Just felt that was what was comfortable after losing Tilak. Thought we needed Indian bats in the middle overs but lost three in the powerplay."

The MI captain praised Piyush Chawla (2-25) for his bowling effort and suggested that it would prove fruitful for the team if they could rally around the veteran spinner.

“Piyush is bowling well, others need to rally around him. That’s what we expect, it’s a team game. But we can take a lot of learnings and take it forward," he said.

It was MI’s fifth defeat in 10 games this season and Rohit said the upcoming games will be essential for the team.

“We need to play good cricket, the next two home games are important. We need to do well to come back," he concluded.