14 matches in IPL 2021 won't take away the glory MI have achieved in last 2-3 seasons: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians (MI) came close to sealing a spot in the IPL 2021 playoffs on the final day of the league stages but fell short at the end to suffer an early exit from the competition. Rohit Sharma & Co. needed to win by a massive margin of 171 runs against SRH in their final league game to qualify for the top four but could only manage a 42-run win as they bowed out of the tournament.

Mumbai Indians managed to attain 14 points with the help of seven wins in 14 matches this season but fell short in terms of the net run rate to finish fifth. In his farewell message for the fans after MI's exit from IPL 2021, captain Rohit Sharma said the failure to make it to the playoffs cannot take away the glory Mumbai Indians have achieved in the last few seasons.

Rohit also hailed his teammates for giving the best in the tournament and called the season full of ups and downs. The defending champions had a mixed campaign and were abysmal at the start of the UAE leg before finding their rhythm towards the end of the league stages. However, they crashed out despite winning their final league game.

"A season full of ups, downs & learnings. But these 14 matches won’t take away the glory this incredible group achieved over the last 2-3 seasons. Every player who don the blue & gold played with pride & gave his best. And that’s what makes us the team we are! ONE FAMILY @mipaltan," Rohit wrote in his tweet.

Mumbai Indians are one of the best teams in the history of IPL with as many as five titles under their belt. They own the record for winning the most number of IPL trophies by any team in the history of the competition. MI won back-to-back IPL titles in last two seasons and were aiming for a hat-trick of trophies this year.

However, they failed to make it to the playoffs in what was a disappointing campaign for the five-time champions.