When Rohit lit up Eden - yet again!

An earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude hit Myanmar on Wednesday evening that triggered a few tremors in parts of Kolkata. The tremors were felt in the Eden Gardens as well by a section of the media before the start of the game. On a sporting note, tremors of a different kind were to be experienced later by the Kolkata Knight Riders on the cricket field, courtesy some fine hitting from the Mumbai Indians batsmen who creamed a run-chase of 188 with finesse.

At the helm of it was, no prizes for guessing - Rohit Sharma, who sure has fond memories of the Eden Gardens. Time and again he has said that there is just something very positive about this ground that eggs him to put up his best bat forward. Wednesday night against KKR was no different. There were shots that were pure joy to watch.

A flick for six, some glorious drives through the covers and that straight bat with the elbow high up in line with the eye - it was classic Rohit Sharma on display. The nineteenth over that Andre Russell bowled was a treat to watch in particular as Rohit completely dismantled the bowler thrashing four boundaries in that over. And, just like that it was the final nail in the coffin - it was Game, Set and Match Mumbai Indians. Captain leading from the front, two vital points, some stellar performances and the smiles were back in the Mumbai Indians dugout. Here’s man of the moment Rohit Sharma taking IPLT20.com through the run-chase and talking about his love for his second home - the Eden Gardens.

A win after the loss in the first game; this has to be a satisfying victory isn’t it?

It is a satisfying victory. The win was important and we have been talking about it a lot and today was a perfect day. Getting those two points was very crucial. We have worked really hard for this. We wanted to do well in Mumbai as well but things didn’t go accordingly. I always believe that this team has got a lot of potential and we came and proved it here today. We will happily take these two points with us to Mumbai.

The opening pair put up 50 runs in five overs, just the kind of start that the team needed?

When you are chasing big scores like that, you have to understand and plan your innings with your partner. Myself and Parthiv Patel talked about it at the start of the innings and we got off to a good start in the power play. As soon as we lost Parthiv, Hardik Pandya tried to rotate the strike but he couldn’t unfortunately. But Mitchell McClenaghan and Jos Buttler changed the course of the game.

A perfect performance from you as well, just the kind of innings you would want to play going ahead in the tournament?

Absolutely! It is important that someone from the top three bats as deep as possible and today it was me. Once I got to a decent start, I made sure that I was there as long as possible. There is nothing like starting off well and then finishing it off for your team. It is more pleasing when you do that. What I did pretty well was that I planned my innings and my shot selection was pretty good. I have played a lot of cricket here and I understand the wicket really well. I know what my scoring shots are here and where I can get runs. I planned it all well and it worked for me.

And obviously, your Eden Gardens romance continues. You sure know how to play here in particular, don’t you?

I understand how to score runs here. The outfield here is fast and you have to just time the ball really well; that is all you have to do when you are playing at the Eden Gardens. You don’t need to over hit it and sometimes when you do that you tend to lose shape and there are chances of you getting out. I select my shots and the bowlers I have to target. It works well for me here but I know that it won’t happen always. As long as it keeps happening it is good and I am going to take it no matter what.

Tell us about the thought process behind Mitchell McClenaghan’s promotion at number four.

It was Ricky Ponting’s idea. He is the one sitting in the dugout and having those ideas going around. He sent us a message inside asking if sending Mitch was a right move. I said, why not - they have two chinaman bowlers bowling who were at most times bowling googlies. We wanted to just upset their rhythm and we did it perfectly.

Also Jos Buttler coming into his own should augur well going ahead in the tournament.

Jos is going to be a very important member of our team going ahead. He is going to be a key factor for us. I thought he batted brilliantly. He got us that momentum we were looking for. Scoring 41 in 22 balls was some effort. We know that he is that kind of a player and he has done it for England many times. Today was a perfect day - he came and smashed it all round the park. I look forward to performances like those from him in the future as well.

Going forward, what are the areas that you would be looking to work on?

Going ahead I would expect the same kind of performance although there is room for improvement in the bowling department. We have to understand that taking wickets is very important in this format. We didn’t do that and that is the reason why we had to chase such a steep target. The Kolkata Knight Riders batted really well and looked like getting 200 at one point. Our bowlers bowled well at the death and got back us into the game.

A special feeling to put up a match-winning performance in front of Sachin Tendulkar, who was present in the Mumbai Indians dugout?

Sachin Tendulkar is vital as far as Mumbai Indians is concerned. His presence gives us the kind of motivation we need. He is someone who is always there to help, share his thoughts and advice people if needed. He congratulated me after the game and I am sure he was happy to see us win the game more than anything else.
source-.iplt20