India vs Bangladesh | We got the job done despite sloppy fielding, says Rohit Sharma
While admitting that the Indian team was sloppy in the field, Rohit Sharma explained that the focus of getting the job done sealed the win in Rajkot yesterday. Mahmudullah, on the other hand, credited the win to Yuzvendra Chahalās performance and the Rohit-Dhawan blitz in the Powerplay.
With Indian players dropping sitters, messing up simple stumpings and giving away cheap runs throughout the match, it appeared that Bangladesh might have a chance to seal the T20I series in Rajkot. However, when Rohit and Dhawan walked in to chase down the 154 run target, it was evident that Bangladesh were in for a rough ride.Ā
Rohit, who ended up with a 43-ball 85, went on a tear and wrestled control back from Bangladesh in the powerplay and put India inĀ the driver's seat.
āI never underestimate bowlers. All these years, I've just tried to do my best with the bat in hand. Knew conditions were perfect, so all I wanted to do was stay still and "tonk" the ball. The year 2019 has been very good so far. Just want to finish it off on a good note," Rohit said during the post-match presentation, reported Cricinfo.Ā
āWe were sloppy in the field, have to accept that. But the focus is always on getting the job done. I knew that Rajkot is a good track, knew will be difficult for bowlers in the second innings. We took advantage of that, had a great powerplay. After that, it was all about going on.āĀ Ā
Bangladesh started the innings just as they had in the previous game, by attacking Khaleel Ahmed. They put up an impressive 41 runs in just five overs and looked well placed to put up a big score on the board. But Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal ensured that the game did not get away from the hosts as they stemmed the run flow to restrict the visitors to just 153/6. While Chahal finished his quota of overs with numbers of 2/28, Washington ended the day with figures of 1/25 against his name.Ā
"Both Washington and Chahal understand their bowling really well. More importantly, they analyse and have conversations about where they can improve. Chahal has bowled in difficult situations and has somehow brought the team to the top. It's given him confidence. Washington has been our new-ball bowler, but today, I wanted to keep his three overs at the back,ā Rohit added.Ā
After the great start offered by Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh were not able to consolidate and ended up posting a subpar total against a batting heavy Indian side. With the Indian openers scoring for fun from the word go, the game soon turned into a non-contest. While crediting the Indian side for their performance in the game, Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah urged his side to be more positive going into the series decider in Nagpur.
"Was a very good wicket, but we were 25-30 runs short. Having said that, credit to Rohit and Shikhar, how they started. Momentum went their way. Wicket like this, wrist spinner was very handy and Chahal showed that. Aminul is a great find for us, the way he's been putting effort. Hopefully, he will continue. We need to assess the conditions when we go to Nagpur. We needed to be a bit more positive," Mahmudullah explained.