Rohit Sharma touched by Yuvi’s congratulatory message, says it means a lot

Soon after Rohit Sharma’s last ball heroics won the match for Mumbai Indians against the spirited Deccan Chargers, Sharma’s iPhone was flooded with a few hundred texts and an alarming number of missed calls. One particular SMS stood out, though. For, the sender was a certain Yuvraj Singh, says a report in the DNA.

The World Cup hero, who had touched down in the Capital earlier in the day, expectedly watched the entire game. “Yuvi paaji was the first to congratulate me,” Sharma said after his swashbuckling 50-ball 73 on Tuesday.

“It was a simple ‘well done, brother’ message, and it meant a lot to me. I would like to dedicate the knock to him and I hope he gets well soon. He’s gone through so much over the last few months and you have no idea how much we’ve missed him in the dressing room. He’s been my biggest well-wisher, more like an older brother, and I am glad he is finally home. I can’t wait to meet him,” said an emotional Sharma, according to the report.

Meanwhile Hyderabad coach Darren Lehman was critical of the Mumbai players on issue of Kumar Sangakkara’s controversial dismissal, says a report in The Times Of India. “I think it could have been handled better but with such decisions we can’t do anything. It was disgraceful the way Mumbai captain (Harbhajan Singh) behaved. The two gentlemen (umpires) were trying to run the game the right way but they were put under pressure,” he said.

However Rohit Sharma defended the team’s appeal on Sangakkara’s dismissal, which sparked off quite an uproar. “We handled it well. We thought the bails came out and we just wanted to appeal. There was nothing wrong in the appeal and we requested the field umpires to refer it to the third umpire. It looked out when we saw with our naked eyes. In the end, we turned out to be right.”

Meanwhile, speaking about Dale Steyn and Rohit Sharma, who were the star performers of the night, Lehman said: “Steyn is one of the best fast bowlers of the world. He bowled exceptionally well today. It was a stand-out performance from him. Rohit has played for us before and we know his capabilities. He has been a consistent performer and it was a class act.”