IPL 2019: Rohit Sharma misses chance to break Suresh Raina's record of most consecutive appearances for an IPL team
What's the story?
Rohit Sharma missed Mumbai Indians' last match against Kings XI Punjab as a precaution to prevent injury. Because of that, he has missed the opportunity to break Suresh Raina'a record of playing the most consecutive IPL games for a single team.
In case you didn't know...
Raina, who has been playing for Chennai Super Kings since the first IPL season, appeared for them in 134 consecutive matches before he missed a game for the first time during the 2018 season.
The heart of the matter
The 24th match of IPL 2019 was played between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at the Wankahde Stadium. Before the game, Mumbai had confirmed that their skipper Rohit Sharma would sit out in order to prevent aggravating the hamstring niggle he had picked up during practice.
The right-hander made his debut for Mumbai Indians in 2011 and became the captain of the franchise in 2013. Since then, he played 133 games without missing a single one until yesterday.
Rohit had a golden opportunity to break Raina's long-standing record of 134 consecutive appearances for a team. But he has fallen just one match short, which means Raina's record will stand for a bit longer.
Mumbai Indians won a thriller after a scintillating knock from stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard, to zoom to the third spot in the IPL points table. Earlier, Punjab opener KL Rahul had scored his maiden IPL century and thus became the third Indian after Rohit and Raina to score a century in both IPL and international T20s.
What's next?
After winning two consecutive matches from a losing position, Mumbai Indians now look like a very confident side. Rohit might be back for the next game which will be a further boost to the three-time IPL champions.
They will play their next game against Rajasthan Royals this Saturday.