‘GT's dropped catches awoke the dragon in Rohit Sharma,' says former India pacer; MI star admits being ‘lucky'
Rohit Sharma walked away with the Player of the Match award in a challenging IPL 2025 Eliminator match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans in New Chandigarh on Friday after making the most of two early reprieves in his innings.
Dropped in the second over by GT pacer Gerald Coetzee off a top-edge flick down at deep backward square leg, Rohit won another lifeline in the next over when wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis spilled his rash swipe across the line. Cashing in on the chances, Rohit anchored MI to a blistering start alongside Jonny Bairstow before notching up his highest score of the season. Rohit holed out on 81 off 50 deliveries as MI posted 228 for five in an eventual 20-run victory.
Former India pacer Varun Aaron said the dropped catches helped Rohit find his groove again while swinging hard for maximums. 'After he got those couple of lives, it awoke the dragon in him. He was like, you know what, I am just going to go hell for leather and he batted really well. Especially that Sai Kishore over, those few sweeps he hit over square leg were just vintage Rohit Sharma. And if you are going to bowl short to Rohit Sharma, you should be praying to God. You can't bowl short to him,' Aaron told on ESPNcricinfo.
Despite striking four fifties this season, Rohit hasn't been at his flowing best with the bat and the former MI skipper admitted having found some luck through the innings against the Titans.
'I have got only four fifties. I would have definitely liked to score more. It was a good day for us as a team. I do understand the importance of playing this Eliminator, going through this and taking the next step forward. Really proud of a complete team effort,' said Rohit at the post-match presentation.
'To be honest, I have played those shots before in the tournament and unfortunately, I have found fielders. Somewhere down the line, you got to be lucky, and today was that day for me. I got lucky as those catches were dropped. But even after that, you got to play. I was focussing on keeping the momentum and tempo going,' he added after crossing 7000 IPL runs and 300 sixes during the knock.
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