The Indian T20I skipper, Rohit Sharma revealed a canid anecdote after beginning his stint as India’s full-time T20I captain with a thrilling win over New Zealand in the first of a 3-match series in Jaipur on Wednesday. Rohit played a match-winning knock of 48 but he was not able to finish the game in India’s 165 chases as Trent Boult outfoxed Rohit. Suryakumar Yadav also played a quickfire knock of 62 but he was also dismissed by Boult, and then, Lockie Ferguson and captain Tim Southee pulled things back for Kiwis.
India needed 10 runs from the last over and they got past the finish line with a couple of balls to spare. Rohit was looking good to get a big one but a slower-ball bouncer from Trent Boult brought the end of his innings. Rohit tried to hit the slower bouncer over the short fine-leg fielder but he was not able to clear Rachin Ravindra who was stationed perfectly while the deep mid-wicket fielder was out on the boundary.
WATCH – Rohit Sharma funnily slaps Mohammed Siraj in dugout, Twitterati reacts
Speaking after India’s 5-wicket victory, Rohit Sharma said, “We played a lot of cricket together and he knows my weakness and I know his strength, it’s a good fight between the two. When I captain him I always tell him to bluff, and that’s exactly what he did. He put the mid-wicket back and put the fine leg up and I knew he was gonna bowl a bouncer and I was just trying to put it over the fielder but unfortunately, there wasn’t much space on the ball.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma said the thrilling win is good learning for his teammates in his first match as a full-time skipper. Both Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid were relieved as Rishabh Pant smashed a boundary to get over the line in the last-over thriller. Earlier in the day, off-spinner R Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar shone with a couple of wickets apiece as New Zealand was restricted to 164 despite half-centuries from Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman.
Talking about the same, Rohit Sharma said, “Towards the end, we saw it wasn’t easy, was great learning for the guys because those guys haven’t batted in that situation before for India. It was a great learning for them to understand what needs to be done, it’s not about power-hitting all the time and you try and put the ball to the left or right of the fielder and try and take singles or find boundaries.”
ALSO READ: R Ashwin Feels Rahul Dravid Is Acclimatizing With The Indian Dressing Room
He further added, “As a team, we are happy that those guys got to bat in that situation and finished the game off. Technically was a good game, missing a few players and to come and see what the new players have in terms of ability and I think the way we pulled it back in the last 3-4 overs was magnificent.”
Having taken a 1-0 lead, the Indian team will be looking to seal the series when they face New Zealand in the 2nd T20I in Ranchi on November 19.
