Rohit Sharma had missed five matches with a hamstring injury. On Monday in Mumbai, he made clear he had not lost a step.
Rohit scored 84 off 44 balls, hitting seven sixes and six fours, as Mumbai Indians chased down 229 against Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in 18.4 overs. It was the highest target Mumbai Indians had ever successfully chased in IPL history, surpassing the 221 they pulled off against KKR at the same Wankhede Stadium venue earlier this season.
His opening partner Ryan Rickelton made 83 before being dismissed in the 11th over by Mohsin Khan. Together they put on 143 runs for the first wicket, their third century partnership in IPL competition. Rickelton attacked from the start, opening with a six off Mohsin and playing freely against both pace and spin.
Rohit set the tone in the sixth over, smashing 21 runs off Avesh Khan with a combination of fours and sixes after Mumbai had scored around 50 in the first five overs. He looked on course for a century but was caught at short fine leg in the 14th over off Manimaran Siddharth, who finished with 2 for 47.
The target of 229 had been built on a carnage-filled innings from Nicholas Pooran, who blasted 63 off 21 balls for Lucknow, hitting eight sixes and a four. Pooran, who had gone 17 innings without a fifty, reached his half-century in just 16 balls. He and Mitchell Marsh, who scored 44 off 25 balls, added 94 runs for the second wicket in 35 balls to put LSG in command at 123 for one after eight overs.
Corbin Bosch halted that momentum, removing both Pooran and Marsh in the same over. LSG slipped from 123 for one to 160 for four in the 12th over and eventually finished at 228 for five. Jasprit Bumrah had a rough outing for Mumbai, going wicketless while conceding 45 runs and overstepping three times.
Naman Dhir finished unbeaten on 23 and Will Jacks was not out on 10 as Mumbai crossed the line with more than an over to spare.
