Rohit Sharma and David Warner.
Despite the return of their regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a 10-wicket thrashing against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday at Sharjah. After amassing a 149-run total on the scoreboard, the MI bowling unit failed to scalp wickets and put pressure during SRH's run-chase.
The opening duo of skipper David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha endured no problems as SRH sealed the victory with 17 deliveries to spare, clinching the third position in the points table. Following MI's disappointing show in the last league-stage fixture, Rohit admitted that the side missed the services of their two pivotal pacers-- Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.
"These two (Boult and Bumrah) guys have been are wicket-taking bowlers. They have come out really good for us, have always given us breakthroughs. Certainly, we miss them today but we had to manage their workload as they have been playing consistently," said Rohit.
"And the travelling doesn't make it easier also so we wanted to make sure they get few days off and get ready for playoffs," Rohit added.
The Bumrah-Boult duo has scalped 43 wickets in the on-going season, playing a crucial role in MI's dominance in the league. However, ahead of their Qualifier 1 against Delhi Capitals (DC), the MI team management decided to go with a tweaked playing XI. The Mumbai side was also without its premier all-rounder -- Hardik Pandya. Rohit revealed that Hardik was rested to try out the bench strength of the side.
"Fitness-wise he (Hardik Pandya) is fine. We just wanted to give break and provide an opportunity to some other guys but I am sure he will be ready for the playoffs," Rohit further said.
