Sharma, who along with Kieron Pollard lent some respectability to Mumbai Indians total, was left searching for answers to his compounding problems.
It won't be a surprise if Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma were to have shades of grey on his scalp and face by the end of the IPL. After four straight, the 27-year-old is still searching for first points as well as the "right combination and right balance".
Friday's six-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings came as a big jolt to Mumbai because they posted their highest total of the season. A score of 183/7 was eminently defendable. The same could have been 220 had they not lost three quick wickets and showed more than 62/4 in the first 10 overs.
Sharma, who along with Kieron Pollard lent some respectability to Mumbai Indians total, was left searching for answers to his compounding problems.
"If you are not winning, there is something wrong. We tried everything possible. Playing with five bowlers, changing the batting order. I don't think we could do anything else to get the combination right," Sharma rued on Friday night.
While the top-order is not firing, the bowling department, which includes the likes of Lasith Malinga, has touched new lows. Apart from continuing to back Malinga despite his economy rate of 8.87 and only four wickets in four games, Sharma even contemplated bringing in the New Zealand left-arm medium-pacer Mitchell McCleneghan against CSK.
"As I have been saying again and again, we have to get that combination right. Mitchell McCleneghan is a very talented bowler. We were actually thinking of playing him in this game. We wanted to make the batting (line-up) a little stronger. We have not been batting well in the first six overs. Lendl (Simmons) was the best, considering the season he had last year for us and the Wankhede was the best place for him to start. We have go back and see what the right combination is," said Sharma, who helped himself to a masterly 50, his second half-century of the season.
Some of the choices Sharma and Mumbai Indians made were difficult to understand. Pawan Suyal played ahead of Abhimanyu Mithun, a proven performer in domestic cricket. Introducing R Vinay Kumar after eight overs, by which time CSK were already 115/0, was another. Sharma dismissed it as "team strategy".
It was also "team strategy" that MI promoted Corey Anderson to No. 3 and Harbhajan Singh to No. 5. "We wanted to try something different. Whatever we did in the first three games did not work out. We were desperate to get our first win. The team management decided that this was the best way to go forward. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. Last time (at No. 3), Corey scored 95 not out and won us the game (against Rajasthan Royals in 2014) and we qualified for the playoffs. Strategy-wise, it was the best way to go forward."
Up next for Mumbai Indians are Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night.
Maybe among the options for Sharma is to give Mithun a go at the venue where the Karnataka right-arm medium-pacer has grown up bowling while also giving the non-performing Malinga a break and bringing in McCleneghan.
There is no harm in trying. It cannot get any worse, can it?
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}