'Today was that day for me' - Rohit and MI ride their luck to Qualifier 2

Rohit Sharma has scored four fifties in IPL 2025 and each of them have come in wins. The latest - 81 off 50 balls in the Eliminator - came with some luck and he rode it to help Mumbai Indians (MI) into Qualifier 2 against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

"I definitely would have liked to get more [fifties]. But today was a good day for us as a team," Rohit said on the broadcast after claiming the Player-of-the-Match award. "I do understand the importance of playing this Eliminator and going through this next step, taking that step forward. Again, a complete team performance, which we are really, really proud of."

Having been dropped twice in the first three overs of the match, Rohit capitalised and set MI up for a 200-plus total. He hit four sixes and became only the second batter after Chris Gayle to hit 300 sixes overall in the IPL.

"To be honest, I've played all those shots in the game before and unfortunately, I found fielders," Rohit said. "Somewhere down the line, you know, you've got to be lucky and today was that day for me. I got lucky.

"You know, those catches were dropped. But again, like I said, even after the drops, you still have to play well to get those runs. And that is what I was focusing on, how I can keep that momentum going, keep that tempo going, which was brilliant from our entire batting unit to get that score. And then, like I said, it was a good bowling effort as well."

Rohit praised Jonny Bairstow, whose early fireworks set the platform for MI's 20-run win. Bairstow, who had replaced Ryan Rickelton in the squad, marked his MI debut with 47 off 22 balls in an 84-run opening partnership with Rohit. Bairstow was particularly severe on Prasidh Krishna, the Purple Cap holder, smashing him for 35 off 11 balls.

"I've watched him over the years being on the other side," Rohit said of Bairstow. "But it was nice to be on the same side and have a crack at it. We know the quality that he has; a lot of experience playing this format. And we know what he can do upfront with the bat. That is exactly what he did. It never looked like he was playing his first game for this franchise. You know, got settled in pretty well, took his chances and it came off. And it was a good start. We always look for that start. We got that start and we then obviously capitalised on it."