Why was Ishan Kishan promoted ahead of Suryakumar Yadav? MI skipper Rohit Sharma responds

Punjab Kings on Friday registered their second win of IPL 2021 as they crush down the defending champions Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Losing the toss, Mumbai Indians were invited to bat at the Chepauk, however, Rohit Sharma & Co were restricted to a meagre total of 131 runs. What raised everyone's eyes when Ishan Kishan came to bat at number 3 ahead of in-form batsman Suryakumar Yadav. However, Ishan Kishan continued to struggle and he was dismissed by Bishnoi on 6. 

During the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma was asked about the move to promote Ishan Kishan and keeping the in-form batsman Suryakumar in the middle. "It was just a tactical thing, we wanted someone who would bat well against the spinners in the middle and SKY was the one to do that. But when you play on such a challenging pitch then you have to be ready for all the possibilities. When you try, if it works it looks good and if it doesn't work then it looks bad, but we always back the decision we make. We are not putting enough effort on the field and when the conditions are tough you need to understand how you need to bat and how you need to bowl," said MI skipper Rohit Sharma. 

Ishan Kishan came to bat at number 3 when Quinton de Kock was dismissed inside the powerplay. The left-handed batsman faced almost 3 overs- 17 balls to be exact and scored only 6 runs. In the end, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi dismissed him when he tried to square-cut his googly. 

Ravi Bishnoi worked hard with Anil Kumble says KL Rahul

Talking about the PBKS vs MI clash, skipper KL Rahul played a match-winning knock of 60 and remained not-out till the end. For his knock, he was also selected as the player of the match. 

During the post-match presentation, KL Rahul said, "We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. Slowly we are coming together as a team. The guys we have backed are slowly coming through. Bishnoi came back today and the way he bowled was brilliant. We had heard that there was a lot of dew here. I felt like that could play a part. The drier ball started to grip, when it turns it gets really hard. It was good of Chris that he got through that period. He knew whom to target. That's what you get with Chris, not just destructive batting but also experience of playing T20 cricket. He (Bishnoi) unfortunately missed the first few games, he's worked with Anil Bhai (Anil Kumble), he's been brave. He held his composure. When I know what target I am chasing, it gets easier to pace the innings."

(Image Credits: IPLT20.COM/PTI)