Rohit Sharma on India’s win against Pakistan: Captain Rohit Sharma was vocal about India learning from yesterday’s effort to secure this win.
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With India thumping Pakistan by 8 wickets in the fifth match of the ongoing Asia Cup at Dubai, they have topped their table in the first stage of the tournament. Having defeated Hong Kong by 26 runs at the same venue yesterday, another team is expected to a whole lot of good for the team.
India were on top of this match from the word go. From the new ball bowlers making early inroads to the spinners bowling economical overs to the openers laying down a match-winning foundation, almost everything went India’s way tonight.
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During the post-match presentation ceremony, Indian captain Rohit Sharma appreciated the way his boys fought today. He was wax lyrical about his bowlers, who bowled in the hot weather on consecutive days. “Right from the start we were quite disciplined. Wanted to learn from yesterday’s mistakes”, said the Indian captain.
“Was a great game for the bowling unit, especially since we knew it won’t be difficult in these conditions. We stuck to the plan. and did what we had planned to do on this surface”, Sharma further said.
Apart from not giving any opportunity whatsoever to the opposition batsmen, the Indian spinners took crucial wickets as well, playing an apt supporting role to the fast bowlers. Praising his bowlers, Sharma was quoted, “Spinners kept it tight, got the odd breakthrough, but the wickets in the first couple of overs was very important. It was important to get early wickets because they’ve got some quality in the batting. So we didn’t want to make things easy for them.”
“We kept things on the stumps and we spoke about not giving Pakistan room. When Babar and Shoaib were getting a partnership we discussed not to panic, and I was happy we didn’t”, he added.
With Hardik Pandya getting injured during the match, it was vital for Kedar Jadhav to complete the fifth bowler’s quota of overs. Jadhav didn’t shy away from the responsibility, registering bowling figures of 9-1-23-3.
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Sharma was praiseworthy regarding the manner Jadhav donned the role of an all-rounder. “Kedar has been working on his bowling, and he takes his bowling seriously. It augurs well for the team, and the wickets are a bonus for us. His overs in middle are very crucial, especially after Hardik’s injury”, he further added.
In the batting department, Sharma himself scored a 35th ODI half-century and was well supported by his opening partner in Shikhar Dhawan (46). One aspect of the Indian team which will remain under the scanner throughout the Asia Cup is their middle-order. In the first two matches, both Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik have looked assured of their craft in the middle.
Talking about the batsmen, Sharma said, “Quite enjoyed my little innings, got out to a great delivery but it was important to come and adjust to the surfaces here. Now we know exactly what to do. Need to create partnerships to achieve the targets we want to get. And fantastic finish by Dinesh and Rayudu as well.”
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