The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma said he was delighted with the series win over West Indies in the 3-match T20Is, adding the hosts were able to achieve whatever they set out to do. India hammered West Indies by 17 runs to complete another whitewash as the West Indies went home without a win on their tour. India successfully chased down a target in the first T20I but they defended totals successfully in the last 2 T20Is.
The Indian middle-order, which was seen as a concern stepped up with Suryakumar Yadav topping the batting charts as he amassed 107 runs and Venkatesh Iyer putting his hand up and delivering with the bat with 92 runs (with a couple of unbeaten knocks) in the 3-match series. India’s bowling unit came under pressure in the last 2 T20Is but the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel in the death overs and delivered.
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Taking pride in the way, India defended totals on a dewy evening in Kolkata, talking about the same, skipper, Rohit Sharma said: “he team that used to chase, there are not many people here from that squad. We wanted to bat first and chase as well. Because our middle order is fairly new. Happy with the series. Pretty much got everything that we wanted. We do understand we are very young as a team. We are still a good chasing side, but a lot of the players are missing.”
He further added, “So we wanted the guys to understand how to bat in pressure situations. It was pleasing to see guys bailing the team out from situations. Good sign moving forward as a group and something to be proud of. The biggest takeaway from the ODIs was the middle order making it count.”
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Praising the Indian bowlers, Rohit Sharma explained, “I was very impressed with our seam bowling in ODIs. And even here. Harshal is new. Avesh is on debut. Shardul is in and out. So challenge for us was to give them game time and see how they respond. When you play against a team like West Indies, you can test your batting and bowling. They bat very deep. It was a good challenge to defend in both games.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma said India will be looking to continue the good work in the upcoming 3-match series against Sri Lanka, starting February 24. India will be without Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant who were given bio-bubble breaks after the 2nd T20I but the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja will be making a comeback to the side.
Rohit Sharma said India will continue giving chances to players in a bid to find the right combination for this year’s T20 World Cup.
Elaborating the same, Rohit Sharma said, “Few guys miss out for the Sri Lanka series because we want to keep them fresh. But we have the World Cup in mind and we are trying to give game time for individuals. Sri Lanka will be a different challenge. But I am not someone who looks at the opposition, I would like to see what we can do as a team.”
