IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians fail to break jinx, but skipper Rohit is not too fussed about it

Chennai, April 10: Mumbai Indians might have failed to win yet another opening match of Indian Premier League as they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday (April 9), but skipper Rohit Sharma was not very bothered about the unwanted record.

Eight years on Mumbai Indians continued the trend of losing their opening IPL match thanks to the two-wicket defeat to RCB at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the IPL 2021 opener in Chennai.

Harshal Patel delivered a stunning bowling performance before AB de Villiers' masterclass helped RCB beat Rohit-led Mumbai Indians in a last ball thriller.

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After Harshal's five wicket haul restricted Mumbai Indians to 159 runs in the allotted 20 overs, the reigning champions took the match to the last ball despite staring at an early loss.

While Rohit admitted that his side was 20 runs short of the par score, the Mumbai Indians skipper, who has led his team to multiple titles, said winning the tournament is more important than winning the first game.

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"Winning the championship is important, I guess, not the first game. Great fight, we didn't let it go easily. Although the score wasn't something we were happy with. We were 20 short," Rohit told hosts' broadcasters Star Sports after the match.

"We made some mistakes, those are bound to happen. We need to move on. [Jansen] is definitely a talent we've identified. When you look at the situation with four overs left they had AB and Christian, that's why we went with Bumrah and Boult to try and get them out," he added.

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Both teams struggled to get going in the middle overs in Chepauk and the Mumbai Indians skipper feels the wicket wasn't an easy one to bat on.

"Definitely not an easy pitch to bat on, odd ball was gripping. That's something we could think of in our next few games here. De Villiers batted really well and got them home," said Rohit.

"We haven't had much time together as a group and it was totally opposite in Dubai, where we began preparations a month before. But that's how the IPL has been played over the years, you just got to get in the game as quickly as possible," he further added.

"It can be difficult for teams that have great home records, but that is what sport is, you've got to go away and win. We are fortunate that we're even on the park," Rohit added.

Mumbai Indians will now look to bounce back when they next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next match of IPL 2021 on Tuesday (April 13).