IND vs NZ: “These Guys Have Some Serious Skills” – Rohit Sharma Heaps Praise On Bowlers After ODI Series Win vs New Zealand

India National Cricket Team, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, thrashed the Tom Latham-led New Zealand National Cricket Team by 8 wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Saturday, January 21, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Rohit Sharma literally forgot his decision after winning the toss and after a long pause, he said “we will bowl first”. The bowling-first decision was a great one for the side as the Indian bowlers delivered amazing performances and bundled out the Black Caps for 108.

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The surface was not bowling-friendly and it wasn’t unplayable by any means, but the Kiwi batters played some loose shots and were reduced to 15/5. Only Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner got the starts, but all three of them failed to convert a start into a big score.

Mohammed Shami bagged a three-wicket haul while Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar bagged two wickets each. Also, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav picked up one wicket each.

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Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted brilliantly and they ensured India have no hiccups in the run-chase. Rohit scored brilliant 51 runs and Gill scored 40* runs.

I know the big scores haven’t come, but I’m not too worried about it – Rohit Sharma

At the post-match presentation ceremony, India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on his bowlers, saying that they have “some serious skills” and have stepped up and delivered performances consistently. He stated:

“The last five games, bowlers have really stepped up. Whatever we have asked of them, they have stepped up and delivered. You don’t usually see this type of seam movement in India, you generally see it outside India. These guys have some serious skills, they work really hard and it’s great to see them being rewarded.”

Rohit Sharma said that they decided to chase in the match because they wanted the batters to face the challenge of batting under lights. He explained:

“We trained yesterday and the ball was nipping around under lights. We knew that if they had 250 or so, it might have been challenging for us but that was the point of opting to chase. We batted first last game, so the idea was to challenge ourselves.” 

He added that confidence is very high within the team. India National Cricket Team captain elaborated:

“Not sure what I’ll do at Indore (in the final game). The confidence is high within the group and that’s great to see. They (Shami and Siraj) were raring to keep bowling long spells but I reminded them that there is a Test series coming up as well (Australia at home), so we need to take care of themselves as well.”

Rohit Sharma further said that he is fully aware of the fact that he has not been registering big scores in recent times. However, he wasn’t worried about it. He said:

“I’m trying to change my game a bit now, have been trying to take the bowlers on and I think that’s important. I know the big scores haven’t come, but I’m not too worried about it.”

Also Read: IND vs NZ: “Bhulaa”- Twitter Reacts To Rohit Sharma’s Fumble At The Toss

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