Rohit Sharma’s 84 off 44 balls at the Wankhede on Monday triggered discussions about if it came too late in the day for Mumbai Indians, who returned to winning ways — their third in 10 matches. The former captain played a match after missing five games because of a hamstring injury.
Rohit and Ryan Rickelton (83 in 32 balls) put together 143 runs in an opening stand in just under 11 overs to set the platform for the six-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants. Rohit’s performance begged the question: what if had he not missed the earlier matches?
“What a player, what a player, what a player,” LSG head coach Justin Langer raved about Rohit at the news conference. “I always knew, as an opposition player with the Australian team, and I now know as an opposition player with Lucknow Super Giants, what a player he is. And this is the brilliance of the IPL, that every night, on TV or at the ground, we watch some of the greatest talents on earth.”
Rohit’s dominant display also earned praise from Sunil Gavaskar.
“I have been watching Rohit closely over the last year. Ever since he was removed as captain in white-ball cricket and the IPL, he has focused more on his batting,” Gavaskar said on JioHotstar.
“He scored runs in the ODI series against Australia, did well in the home series, and now he is doing the same in the IPL. In the IPL, he usually scores 400 to 500 runs a season, but his knocks are often impactful. He may not have many 80-plus innings, but his 40 to 50-run starts give his team early momentum. The change in his game is clear: he wants to bat deeper and leave a bigger impact.”
Rohit was slow off the blocks — 15 off 15 at a strike-rate of 100. Then he exploded in the final over of the Powerplay, smashing Avesh Khan for 21 and there was no looking back. He hit seven sixes to Rickelton’s eight: three in the Powerplay against Mohammed Shami and Avesh, five against pace overall, and two against the left-arm spin of M. Siddharth.
“In this 84-run knock, we saw all the typical Rohit Sharma shots. The pull shot was on display. Short balls disappeared into the stands. Full deliveries were driven through the cover region. He also lofted long off with ease. Against Siddharth, he played down the ground, hitting against the turn. We saw a focused Rohit against LSG. If he continues this form, Mumbai Indians will hurt the playoff hopes of many teams in the remaining matches,” Gavaskar said.
The flick over deep square leg off Shami had class written all over. But Rohit can hardly be the quickfix for all of Mumbai’s problems. They still need to fix their bowling and the middle order to harbour hopes of finishing in the middle rungs of the table.
Rohit’s innings came at the right time and will silence critics who have been doubting his chances for the 2027 ODI World Cup.