Despite his solid past performances in the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is having a prolonged dry spell that has continued into the IPL 2023. On Sunday (April 2nd), Rohit Sharma failed to give his team a needed boost, managing only one run after 10 balls before being dismissed by Akashdeep. Early blows for Mumbai Indians have compounded Rohit Sharma’s struggles, and it has become clear that his batting average of 23.79 in 2017, 23.83 in 2018, 28.93 in 2019, 27.67 in 2020, 29.31 in 2021, and 19.14 in 2022 is evidence of a prolonged lean patch for Rohit Sharma. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Most consecutive innings without scoring a 50+ score for an opener in the IPL:
Rohit Sharma – 23*
Mayank Agarwal – 21
Murali Vijay – 20
Sunil Narine – 17
Adam Gilchrist – 17 pic.twitter.com/6boaCrOSZW— ; (@AIH183no) April 2, 2023
Fitness level #Dhoni #RohitSharma???? #RCBvMI#TATAIPL2023 #IPL23 pic.twitter.com/pPFp8eFi4r
— SUNIL (@Sunilprajapat76) April 2, 2023
Tilak Varma helped MI after Rohit Sharma and other top-order players failed
MI’s top order crumbled shortly after they were asked to bat first. Suryakumar Yadav (15 off 16 balls) looked out of form and could not help his side out of their troubles. However, Tilak Varma (84* off 46 balls) played a remarkable inning, showcasing his composure despite the falling wickets around him. Thanks to his heroic effort, Mumbai Indians managed to get to 171/7. Nehal Wadhera (21) and Arshad Khan (15*) also provided useful cameos in support. When asked about his knock at the break, Tilak said:
“My plan was to adjust to the wicket and see how it was doing. It was holding slightly in the start. So, I thought I wanted to take my time and see how it goes. I always back my intent and my shots. I was asking my partners what a good score would be, and assessing that.”
RCB won the match with 8 wickets to spare.