"It’s not going to be a cakewalk for us" - Rohit Sharma wary of in-form KKR
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma believes that while his side have enjoyed sustained dominance over Kolkata Knight Riders, it will not be a 'cakewalk' for the defending champions when they lock horns with the Eoin Morgan-led unit on Thursday (September 23).
MI vs. KKR is one of the most lopsided rivalries in IPL history, with the five-time champions winning 22 out of their 28 encounters against the Kolkata-based franchise.
But Rohit Sharma is not someone who relies too much on past records. The champion opener believes KKR will be high on confidence following their dominant win against RCB. Sharma also feels his side will have to be at the top of their game to claim a win in their upcoming fixture.
Speaking in a video shared by Mumbai Indians' Instagram account, Sharma said:
"I honestly don’t believe in past records because T20 is game of..on that particular day what happens. They [KKR] are a good opposition. They play cricket really well and they will coming off some confidence after their last win, so it’s not going to be a cakewalk for us."
"I know we’ve had a very handy record against them but it’s important we turn up really well on that particular day and do the job," he added.
Mumbai have won nine out of their last 10 fixtures against Kolkata. They pulled off a 10-run win thanks to a brilliant spell of bowling by Rahul Chahar earlier in the season.
We have got all bases covered: Rohit Sharma
Mumbai had a poor start to the UAE leg of their campaign as they squandered a winning position against the Chennai Super Kings to eventually lose the game by 20 runs.
The loss was Mumbai's fourth defeat in eight games and they will now have to shrug off the rust and string together a few wins to keep themselves in contention for a top-2 finish.
Rohit Sharma believes his squad has got all bases covered to stage a comeback.
"We just have to comeback really strong and if you look at our squad, we have got all bases covered," concluded Sharma.
Rohit Sharma did not feature in the first game against CSK but is set to make a return to the playing XI in the all-important game against KKR on Thursday.