“Sadly, my father was in the hospital, in the ICU, he just got discharged yesterday so I was playing the match for him,” Mohsin said after successfully defending 11 in the final over of the chase. “He was probably watching the game on TV. So I was playing for him. He was in the ICU for the last ten days. He must be very happy.”
While speaking to the broadcaster at the end of the game, Mohsin also reflected on his tough 12 months. After taking 14 wickets in nine matches with an economy of 5.97 in his maiden IPL season in 2022, Mohsin suffered a serious shoulder injury and did not play any competitive cricket for a whole year.
He wasn’t fit for the first half of IPL 2023, and the game against Mumbai was only the second time he was bowling this season, after returning figures of 1 for 42 in three overs against Titans.
“I am playing after a year. I got injured in the middle, it was a tough time for me,” Mohsin said. “The way I bowled last year, today I felt I bowled like that so I am pretty happy.”
“I was just trying to do what I do in practice. That’s my strength. I just followed that,” Mohsin said. “Krunal [Pandya] bhai also came and asked me what I was going to do. I told him, ‘bhaiya, I will do what I have been doing so far.’
“I was just trying to keep myself calm and not look at the scorecard. I just thought that I have to simply bowl six balls. I wasn’t looking at the runs, whether they need 10 runs or 11 runs. I was just thinking that I have to bowl six good balls.
“Because the wicket was gripping I thought I will bowl slower balls. I beat the batter with the first two balls. I was just trying to change that up with yorkers. It was also reversing a little.”
Mohsin said he was thankful to the LSG team management for picking him against Mumbai, despite his poor outing in Ahmedabad
“I am also very grateful for the faith shown in me by the team. My last game wasn’t good but they played me in this one,” he said. “Especially Gautam [Gambhir] sir, Vijay [Dahiya] sir and the rest of the support staff, they showed trust in me and played me.”
“Mohsin is someone who has a really, really big heart. And if you have a big heart in this sport, you go a long way. And that is what Mohsin is all about,” Krunal said. “Really happy for him. He has not played any cricket in the last one year. He went through a very serious surgery. And then to come here and straightaway play IPL in such a high-pressure situation, that shows how strong mentally he is. He has a big heart and when someone has a big heart, the sky is the limit.”
LSG are now level with Chennai Super Kings on 15 points, behind on net run rate, and a victory in their final league game -against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on May 20 – will confirm their place in the playoffs.