Rohit coming down provides lot of stability to batting order, says Parthiv Patel

PARTHIV PATEL has backed Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and has said that his decision to bat down the order is bound to provide more stability to the batting.

Ahead of the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai, the MI wicket-keeper batsman told PTI,

“The year before (2015) when we won the championship, with myself and Lendl (Simmons) opening we were successful. With Rohit coming down, it gives stability to the batting order and gives us freedom to play shots in the first six overs.”

Speaking about the thrilling win against KKR, Patel said that the victory has given his side confidence to cross the finish line in the death overs. He also added that there has been no change in his playing style ever since the inception of the cash-rich league.

“My game does not change. I have batted the same way since IPL started. It is important to stick to your ability and not worry about batting order. I will be successful only if I play my game. This is a tournament in which lots of runs have been scored in the last few overs. We were always confident, especially with the way Hardik (Pandya) was batting in the nets or even in the last game. We knew if we can take it deep we can always chase anything on this ground. Obviously dew was a very big factor, I think. But it was good to get a win early in the season.” 

Patel recalled youngster Nitish Rana’s 36-ball 70 against Gujarat Lions in the final game of IPL 9 and praised him for his batting ability. 

“He batted very well in last season’s last game as well. He showed how well he can bat and accelerate. He’s definitely a quality player and showed in both the games. He definitely has both sides of the game. He knocked about the first few balls and then played big shots. He can play both ways.” 

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