India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma gave a clear indication that MS Dhoni’s fans will see him batting more often at no 4 in T20Is. In the presentation ceremony after men in blue registered a comprehensive 93-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20 at Cuttack, Rohit commended Dhoni and Manish Pandey for the finish they provided to the innings.

Rohit said, “Great finish to our innings by MS and Pandey. Pandey hasn’t had much game time in the middle, so to come out and bat like that is good. And MSD, he’s just class. No. 4 really paid off. He’s played so many games for us, won so many games for us and moving forward, we feel making him bat at No. 4 is ideal. That allows Manish and Dinesh (Karthik) to finish games off.”

He further added, “For a long period of time, MS has been finishing games off, but we want him to bat freely now, without that pressure.”

Dhoni’s place in the Indian team had been criticized by a lot of people as he failed to get going in recent innings. But, on Wednesday, Mahi took India out of a tricky situation and helped them post 180/3 in Cuttack as he smashed 39 off 22 balls, hitting four fours and one six that came off the last ball of the Indian innings.

Rohit also hailed the batting of KL Rahul as an opener as he scored his second T20I half-century. the skipper said, “It was a great move, for KL to start with at the top, was not part of the ODI squad, but he came here and showed he belonged. Batted magnificently.”

However, the match took a drastic turn to India’s side after a brilliant spin bowling display by Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Praising them, Sharma said, “They have always been our wicket-taking options in the middle. They understand what the team expects and they come out and deliver. No words can describe how good they have been for us. The fast bowlers as well, Jaydev playing his first game after a long time, taking an early wicket. Bumrah and Pandya keeping things tight. Conditions weren’t easy and they did very very well.”