IPL 10: Rohit Sharma gets support of MI teammate Harbhajan Singh

Mumbai: Baking his captain, Mumbai Indians offie Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday claimed that Rohit Sharma, who has been fined for showing dissent to the umpire, did not misbehave with the official and was just trying to take understanding of the rules.

The Mumbai Indians skipper was batting at the crease when his team needed 17 runs to win off the remaining five balls of the last over against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.

After losing Hardik Pandya on the first delivery of the match, Rohit cleared the fence for a six, but seeing him shuffling across the stumps, Jaydev Unadkat pushed the ball wide.

Feeling that the ball was going away from the stumps and will be called a wide, Rohit left it alone. But umpire S Ravi did not call it a wide. Expressing disappointment over the decision, Sharma walked up to the umpire and protested.

The leg-umpire A Nand Kishore also intervened into the matter to sort out the problem. Subsequently, the match officials imposed a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee.

"The ball was too far outside, to be honest, but I don't really know whether it was wide or not," Harbhajan told reporters at the post match conference.

"If both the batsman's leg move, then bowler should get the margin, but Rohit's one leg had moved and as per me it should have been a wide. But we have to move on with the umpire's decision and they played better than us and it was a great game of Cricket.

"He (Rohit Sharma) wanted to check what is the rule then, where he need to stand, he did not shout at the umpire and asked him why did he not call a wide, he was asking where should I stand so that it is called a wide, if the bowl so outside, the more you move, the bowler will get the margin," he explained.

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Harbhajan also refused to accept the philosophy that because of that particular delivery, Mumbai Indians, especially Rohit Sharma, lost the momentum and lost the match by 3 runs.

"I don't know whether momentum was lost (because of the wide not being called), Rohit was hitting nicely but unfortunately he ended up hitting the ball straight in the air. That's what happens, Cricket is game, anything can happen," he said.

"Just before that Rohit Sharma hit a six and a similar ball went up in the air. I don't think momentum would have lost, at that time (you need to do) as a batter, just see and hit the ball, Rohit was batting on 50 odd, so don't think there were chances to lose the momentum," he added.