'You cannot replace that': MI coach Jayawardene hails 'big-game player' Rohit after his 'fire in belly' is questioned

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene hailed former captain Rohit Sharma for turning up the heat in “big games” as the opener smashed 81 from 50 balls in the five-time champions’ Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Eliminator victory in Mullanpur on Friday.

Rohit had even been accused of lacking "fire in the belly" as he went three innings without a fifty before the Eliminator against the Gujarat Titans (GT). But in the playoffs match, he came good once again, smashing a fiery fifty and helping MI post a mammoth total of 228/5, which proved to be 20 runs too much for GT.

Jayawardene hails ‘big game’ player Rohit Sharma

Rohit was, of course, assisted by a few dropped catches and opening partner Jonny Bairstow’s blitzkrieg, which allowed him time to settle and score big. Bairstow scored 47 runs in 22 balls.

“RO batted brilliantly. I think he took his time a little bit, letting Jonny take control initially. And then, when he knew it was his time, he got into a brilliant tempo. The pressure that he put on Sai [Kishore] and Rashid [Khan] in that situation was absolutely brilliant," Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference.

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“In big games, he does have a different gear that he plays. That’s what experience does, and you cannot replace that,” he added.

Mahela Jayawardene on Rohit Sharma.❤️

https://t.co/F9zphxmjWZ

— Rohan💫 (@rohann__45) May 31, 2025

Jayawardene also highlighted the winning culture Mumbai Indians and praised the team’s smart tactical shift to a barrage of yorkers after recognising that the slower deliveries weren’t gripping the surface.

“We couldn’t get our grip. Planning-wise, we changed our plans to bowl yorkers as much as we could because the length balls were skidding through. The variations were not happening. I think it was a tough last 10 overs for us, but the experienced heads held together and we executed brilliantly,” Mahela said.

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“When you have a winning culture, it’s easier to try and have that same thing going through. We have a very experienced core group within our ranks. That winning mentality itself comes through from those senior players. Players who have won trophies do help. My job is to try and cultivate the new guys who are coming into the squad. After the big auction, we had quite a few new faces. I think telling them about how we operate and having that attitude that we’ll never die from a situation always works,” he added.