IPL 2026: Rohit Sharma opens up after MI’s 162 on tricky Kotla pitch, says ‘We got…’

Mumbai Indians posted a competitive 162/6 in 20 overs against Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.

Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with a measured 51 off 36 balls, while Rohit Sharma contributed 35. The pitch was slow and two-paced, making shot-making difficult, but MI managed to cross the 160-run mark.

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Rohit Sharma on the pitch and strategy

Rohit Sharma felt 162 was a decent total on the sluggish surface.

“Looks like a pretty slow wicket. You just have to get in and bide your time and then try and play some shots because it’s not easy, but I thought we managed to get a decent score on the board. Hopefully, we can try and squeeze them in the first six, try and get some wickets up front, and then see where the game goes.”

“Looks like that at the moment. As you saw in the first innings, shot-making wasn’t that easy. We’ve got bowlers who can exploit that and try and, as I said, try and squeeze them in the first six. If you can manage to do that in the first six, then we are pretty much in control of the game, and then, our spinners, the seamers, can come into the picture,” said Rohit in a mid-innings chat with the broadcasters.

He also explained that hitting through the line was tough on this pitch.

“It was two-paced, even with the new ball; there was something in it. Like I said, it was not easy to keep hitting through the line. You’ve got to understand where you want to hit the ball. Like I said, also, we’ve got the bowlers who are pretty smart to exploit those conditions, and I hope they can do that.”

On the DRS moment with Kuldeep Yadav that he survived, Rohit said:

“I know Kuldeep pretty well, likes to take the DRS. So, I was just trying a little bit of luck there. But again, I got out pretty much in the next over. I couldn’t carry on. I wanted to take the game as deep as possible, but couldn’t do so.

“But, a little bit of fun there with the guys out there. No, no, nothing like that. I was just trying to be, I was just trying to walk there. So, I know Kuldeep, he likes to take the DRS as soon as there is a 50-50 chance. So I was just trying my luck there. It turned out in our favour, but as I said, I got out in the next over. Wanted to bat deep, but couldn’t do so.”

Match summary

DC’s bowlers did well to restrict MI on a slow black-soil pitch. Mukesh Kumar was the standout with 2/26, while Axar Patel and others kept things tight in the middle overs.

Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma added 53 runs for the second wicket, but DC picked up regular wickets to prevent MI from accelerating freely. Naman Dhir provided some late support as MI crossed 160 in the final overs.