Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma's love affair with Eden Gardens continued as he lifted the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 trophy after leading his side to a comprehensive victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday.
Rohit scored his maiden Test hundred for India in Eden Gardens. And no one can ever forget his innings of 264* runs against Sri Lanka in 2014 and now he can carve another memory with MI winning their second IPL title.
The MI captain was also adjudged the man of the match in the big final for his blitzkrieg. He became the second skipper after Anil Kumble to have achieved this feat of getting the man of the match award in the final.
"I want to pack it and take it home and then carry it with me wherever in the world I go. This ground has now become extremely special for me; I have achieved so much here and it is very close to my heart. I don't know why this ground is so special for me and I don't even want to know as long as I keep coming here and performing the way I have so far and keep winning trophies," Rohit Sharma told the official IPL website.
When Rohit came to bat on Sunday, Mumbai Indians were 1/1. One would have thought that it created a lot of pressure on their next batsman and the one on the other end of the wicket. But it became a completely different story as Rohit started timing the ball from the best part of the bat and it was evident he is peaking a lot of confidence while playing his shots at Eden Gardens.
"You have all the confidence with you when you go in to bat. Also, as a captain I always wanted to lead from the front and direct the team in the way I wanted them to go. For that I have to make sure whatever I do, I set the right example for the rest. I didn't try anything extra; just walked in with a lot of confidence and did my thing," added the MI 'Hitman.'
Sharma also lauded his head coach Ricky Ponting for backing him up as the leader of the pack and helping the other guys to pump up with a lot of positivity.
"His advice has helped me a lot and I have picked up a lot. But the best thing about him is that he gave me complete freedom to do what I was comfortable with as the captain of the team. The strategies we formed, the team selection – he gave me a free hand. And that really helped me grow," Rohit Sharma added.