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Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma has urged his teammates to put up one last effort against Chennai Super Kings in the finals, saying all their hard work would go in vain if they failed to win the IPL T20 tournament at the Edens Gardens.
Mumbai Indians had an ominous start to their season eight campaign losing four matches on the trot but they turned the tables in style winning seven of their last eight matches to finish second in the league round.
Terming their passage into the final as the biggest thing, Sharma said: "At the end of the day, you wait for this all important day to win the Cup. No matter what we have done in the past if you don't win the final all your hard work will go in vain. We don't want that. We completely agree we didn't
start well but we always believed there's character in the team."
"We're lucky that we're in this position and it's because of all the hard work we have put in over a month and a half. We have all the potential, it was a matter of putting it together and translate it into wins.
"As a captain it's important for me to say it's one last effort we need. We are really determined to change the table. I'm pretty sure the boys are experienced enough to know the importance of the match," Sharma told a joint news conference with Chennai's Suresh Raina on the eve of the final.
Having got a recall into the Test squad, veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh may be looking forward to his favourite ground Eden but Sharma urged to live in the present.
"I don't think there's too much about this mental edge. It's important what you do on that particular day. All his good performances will be there back of his mind, confidence will be there.
"It's important for him to stay in present and not to carry too much of baggage of behind. I'm sure he wants to do well here, he's up for it and ready to go."
Second placed Mumbai Indians beat the same team in the first qualifier to directly enter the final while the MS Dhoni-led side had to win the qualifier two against Royal Challengers Bangalore. That gave the Mumbai Indians four days' of break and Sharma said they're rejuvenated to take on Chennai again.
"It's always very good to get breaks especially after the kind of cricket we've been playing over four-five months. It's important to get the freshness back and get back rejuvenated. The break really helps in a long tournament," he said.
"The kind of weather we get it's pretty tough when you travel and play. It's always good to have a break. When you qualify from top two, you get this opportunity."
This will be Mumbai's third final and they had faced the same opponents on both the previous occasions -- in 2010 they had lost to Chennai by 22 runs while in 2013 they won by 23 runs. Both the teams are likely to face severe heat and humid conditions at the Eden but Sharma said it should not be an excuse.
"The weather is not in our control and IPL is always scheduled to be played in this part of the year so mentally the players should be ready to play in whatever conditions they have to. At the end of the day you are professional cricketers, you have to come out and give your best," he said.
"Coming from Mumbai, we are used to such kind of humidity. Luckily we are playing a 8pm game so heat is not going to be a factor, humidity will be a factor.
"At the end of the day all we want to focus is how we are going to play and win this cup. We're focused on winning the Cup. Not about the weather or mentally tired."