Following the five-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma said that his side lost its way in the second half of the run chase and failed to win the little moments of the game when it mattered the most. Marcus Stoinis's unbeaten knock 89(47)* and collective economical spells from LSG bowlers sealed a victory against MI at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.
"We did not play well enough to win the game. There were little moments in the game that we did not win, unfortunately. We assessed the pitch really well and it was a good pitch to bat on and that score was definitely chaseable and we lost our way in the second half of the innings. We gave too many runs at the back end and the last three overs went for a few. But the way we started with the bat we were in a good position to chase, but like I said we lost our way in the second half.
"He (Marcus Stoinis) played really well, kept hitting straight which is what you need to do on a pitch like this. It was a brilliant knock from him. Not sure how the calculation (about the points and net run rate) will work, but we need to come out and play some good cricket in our last game (against SRH)," said the skipper in a post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, LSG was put to bat first by MI and they posted 177/3 in their 20 overs. Pacer Jason Behrendorff and Piyush Chawla took three quick wickets for MI, dismissing Deepak Hooda (5), Prerak Mankad (0) and Quinton de Kock (16), reducing LSG to 35/3. Then skipper Krunal Pandya (49 off 42 balls) built a partnership with Marcus Stoinis but retired hurt before he could complete his half-century.
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