Mumbai Indians once again started their 2021 Indian Premier League with a defeat. This time they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but the captain Rohit Sharma has said that winning the tournament is important to them.

Harshal Patel took a fifer before AB de Villiers’ blistering knock helped RCB defeat Mumbai Indians by two wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. Harshal Patel’s five-wicket haul restricted Mumbai Indians to 159 runs in the allotted 20 overs and Rohit Sharma admitted that his side was 20 runs short of the total as well.

“Winning the championship is important, I guess, not the first game. Great fight, we didn’t let it go easily. Although the score wasn’t something we were happy with. We were 20 short,” Rohit said to the hosts’ broadcasters Star Sports after the match.

READ HERE: Harshal Patel To Be RCB’s “Designated Death Bowler,” Says Virat Kohli

“We made some mistakes, those are bound to happen. We need to move on. [Jansen] is definitely a talent we’ve identified. When you look at the situation with four overs left they had AB and Christian, that’s why we went with Bumrah and Boult to try and get them out,” he further added.

While both teams struggled in the middle overs Rohit Sharma felt that the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on as the odd ball was gripping. And, he added that they will think of it in their next few games. And, he praised AB de Villiers; knock.

“We haven’t had much time together as a group and it was totally opposite in Dubai, where we began preparations a month before. But that’s how the IPL has been played over the years, you just got to get in the game as quickly as possible. It can be difficult for teams that have great home records, but that is what sport is, you’ve got to go away and win. We are fortunate that we’re even on the park,” Rohit Sharma concluded.

Mumbai Indians will next play against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday, April 13.