Rajkot: Rohit Sharma knew that the conditions were ‘perfect’ for batting in his 100th T20 International and all he had to do was to ‘stay still and tonk the ball’.
Cyclone ‘Maha’ threat was looming large on Rajkot but it was Indian cricket’s ‘Hit-Man’, who struck like tornado during his 85 off 43 balls as India levelled the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh with a eight-wicket victory in the second game.
“All these years, I’ve just tried to do my best with the bat in hand. I knew conditions were perfect. So all I wanted to do was stay still and tonk the ball. This year (2019) has been very good so far. Just want to finish it off on a good note,” said the stand-in captain, who was also adjudged man of the match.
“I knew that Rajkot is a good track and it will be difficult for the bowlers in the second innings. We took advantage of that and had a great power play. After that, it was all about going on,” added the skipper.
Rohit Sharma was all praise for his spinners Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal, who put brakes on Bangladesh restricting them to 153 for six on a placid Rajkot track.
“Both Washington (Sundar) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal understand their bowling really well. More importantly, they analyse and have conversations on where they can improve. Chahal has bowled in difficult situations and has somehow brought the team to the top,” said Rohit.
“Washington has been our new-ball bowler, but today (Thursday), I wanted to keep his three overs at the back. I’m an emotional guy. We were sloppy in the field, have to accept that. But focus is always on getting the job done,” added Rohit.
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah admited that his team was 25-30 runs short of an ideal total.
“It was a very good wicket to bat on, but we were 25-30 runs short. Having said that, credit goes to Rohit and Shikhar (Dhawan), how they started. The momentum went their way. We need to assess the conditions when we go to Nagpur. We needed to be a bit more positive,” said that nBangladesh captain.
India’s bowling hero Yuzvendra Chahal felt that there was something in the pitch for the spinners during the first half.
“When I bowled my first ball, I realised that it’s spinning. You have to vary your pace on such tracks,” said Chahal.
During his time away from the Indian team, Chahal informed that he was practising with the wet ball to counter the dew factor.
“When I was not part of the India team, I was practicing with the wet ball, so dew didn’t affect me. My bowling depends on what I think the batsman is trying to do. Depending on that I bowl the top-spinner, googly or slider,” the wiry leg-break bowler said.
PTI