You don't need to motivate this Mumbai Indians side: Rohit

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has asserted that his side would bounce back from the defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener and pick up steam as the tournament progresses as they know how to "win the trophy and games". 

Mumbai Indians had a typical slow start to their title defence in season nine, going down to Pune Supergiants by nine wickets on April 9 but Rohit said his team has in it the wherewithal to come back stronger. 

"It (the loss) was disappointing, the performance we had is not something we would want. But things like this can happen. What has happened has happened and we don't want to carry any baggage.

"We have gone back to the drawing board and decided what we can't afford as a team. We have rectified our mistakes. Hopefully we have a better game here," Rohit said on the eve of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

"We are a team that knows what we have to do to win the trophy and win games. This is professional unit and you don't need to motivate the team. Everyone knows what is expected. You can't get demotivated. You have to come back stronger. That is the only way going forward," he added. Rohit said every team needs some time some time to settle down and the first few weeks would be a challenge.

"The first few games are always challenging because as a group you are all trying to get together and play as a team which is difficult for every team, not just Mumbai Indians. That is a challenge for us as well. The first few weeks will be a big challenge, to get the right combination and field your best team," he said.