Rohit Sharma has said that the middle order batting has been the biggest takeaway for the team as they scored runs consistently after registering a 3-0 ODI series win against West Indies. Rohit further added that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will play together for the national team very soon.
India won the final and third ODI of the series against West Indies by 96 runs inflicting a clean sweep over visitors. Winning the toss, India opted to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The hosts lost three wickets early on the score of 42 but then a 110 run partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant steadied the innings. Iyer scored 80 runs while Pant scored 56 and India posted a total of 265.
India’s middle order has been helping the Indian team to score decent totals throughout the series. Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have scored runs in different situations.Reflecting on the win, India captain Rohit Sharma said that the middle-order batting has been the biggest positive for the team in the series. He also added that the team has ticked a lot of boxes in the series.
“That was the biggest takeaway for us – the middle order batting. Today was again a great game for the middle order. We were 40/3. For me that’s the biggest takeaway.Definitely not looking at those numbers (captaincy record). Have ticked a lot of boxes in this series. Whatever we wanted to get out of this series, we pretty much got. Noise will be around as long as we’re playing,” Rohit said in post-match presentation.
Rohit also said that the team keeps its focus doesn’t get bothered by outside noise
“People look up to us, everybody watches us. As players, as individuals, we know what we need to focus on. Outside noise doesn’t bother the dressing room,” he stated.
Defending the target was a easy task for the Indian team as they dominated the West Indies bowling line-up right from the start. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna picked three wickets each. Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with the contribution of a couple of wickets. Krishan has been the highest wicket-taker in the series with six wickets in two fixtures. Rohit praised Krishna saying that his spell was amazing.
“Said it in the last game as well – never seen something like that in India (Prasidh’s spell). Good to have someone who can hit the deck and get that bounce. Although I didn’t feel like this was Indian conditions, was good to see the fast bowlers actually. Was also impressed with Siraj. And then Shardul and Deepak did the job for us,” he said.
Several former cricketers have been in favor of playing Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep together. Chahal picked five wickets in two matches in the series and Kuldeep scalped a couple of wickets.
Rohit said that the fans will see Kuldeep and Chahal playing together very soon.
“Both Kuldeep and Chahal are crucial players for us. Especially Kuldeep. Chahal was very much in the plans and Kuldeep went off the radar. It was important to get him back slowly. Important to give them that confidence. We start expecting things early than expected, important to give them some cushion. Pretty sure we’ll see them together soon,” he explained.
