Mumbai Indians entered Pepsi IPL 2014 with a huge amount of expectation that comes with being the defending champions. And so far, they have failed miserably to live up to it, losing all five games in the UAE.

Now, they attempt to start afresh, with their first game of the season, at the Wankhede Stadium, against Kings XI Punjab. While the journey so far has been arduous and joyless, skipper, Rohit Sharma, hasn’t given up hopes of a comeback.

“We all know it has been a disappointing start. Certain things we did not do right,” Rohit said on the eve of the match. “We took each game at a time and not looked too far ahead. We committed a lot of mistakes right from the first game against Kolkata (Knight Riders) till the last game against Sunrisers (Hyderabad) and kept repeating them.

“That can happen, it’s a new team. It’s a different challenge now. We have come to Mumbai now and we know the conditions here. It’s a fortress. Last year, we won eight out of eight (here). We will try and keep that record intact. It will be a challenge as we will be playing the table toppers. The crowd here is very enthusiastic. It will be an extra advantage for us,” Rohit said.

Admitting that batting let the team down in the UAE leg, Rohit hoped familiar conditions of their home ground will help their batsmen in getting back among runs.

“Batting has not been up to the mark. We are disappointed the way we batted. Shot selection wasn’t that great. We have come to familiar conditions and all our batsmen know how to bat on this wicket and I hope for a better batting performance from all our batters.

“All I can ask my team members is not to repeat the same mistakes of the last five games. If we keep doing the right things, I am sure things will fall in place. The last game, we came pretty close to victory, but unfortunately, it wasn’t our day. We have got the right combination, and the players; only thing is we are not executing our plans. Tomorrow will be a critical game, which we have to win,” the MI skipper said.

The first goal of all IPL teams is to make the top four. And despite their horror start, Rohit believes his team can still make it to the Playoffs.

“We just have to win eight games out of nine (to qualify). It will be a difficult task, but as I said, we don’t want to think too far ahead. Tomorrow is an important game. We want to win that and then think about the next game. That will be our strategy.”