Sunil Gavaskar Showers Praise On Rohit Sharma's Batting Heroics Against LSG In IPL 2026: 'His Knocks Are Often Impactful'

IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in the IPL 2026 match on Monday, chasing down a massive target of 229 runs with aplomb as the former skipper Rohit Sharma played a match-winning knock of 84 runs at his home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The 39-year-old opener batter was making his return to the MI playing XI after missing a few matches due to injury, and he played an impactful knock in just 44 balls with the help of six fours and seven sixes.

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Speaking on Star Sports, the former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar lauded Rohit Sharma's batting display against LSG.

"I have been watching Rohit Sharma closely over the last year. Ever since he was removed as captain in white-ball cricket and the IPL, he has focused more on his batting. He scored runs in the ODI series against Australia, did well in the home series, and now he is doing the same in the IPL. In the IPL, he usually scores 400 to 500 runs a season, but his knocks are often impactful. He may not have many 80-plus innings, but his 40 to 50-run starts give his team early momentum," said Gavaskar.

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"The change in his game is clear: he now wants to bat deeper and leave a bigger impact. In this 84-run knock, we saw all the typical Rohit Sharma shots. The pull shot was on display. Short balls disappeared into the stands. Full deliveries were driven through the cover region. He also lofted long off with ease. Against left-arm spinner M Siddharth, he played down the ground, hitting against the turn. We saw a focused Rohit Sharma against LSG. If he continues this form, the Mumbai Indians will hurt the playoff hopes of many teams in the remaining matches," he further added.

Coming to the match, MI opted to bowl first after winning the toss and knocks from Nicholas Pooran (63 off 21 balls, with four and eight sixes), Mitchell Marsh (44 off 25 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Himmat Singh (40* in 31 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took LSG to 228/5.

However, the opening stand of 143 runs between Ryan Rickelton (83 in 32 balls, with six fours and eight sixes) and Sharma helped MI make light work of the chase and completed the chase in 18.4 overs.

MI are at the ninth spot with three wins and seven losses, while LSG are at the bottom with two wins and seven losses.