India vs New Zealand | Players came together as a team today, asserts Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has stated that he wanted the Indian players to come together as a team after the loss in the previous game and they did exactly that to win the last ODI of the series. The stand-in skipper also revealed that the game being an inconsequential one prompted him to bat first today.
After losing the fourth ODI in Hamilton, the Indian team, under Rohit's captaincy, bounced back well in the last game of the five-match series to beat the Kiwis by 35 runs. India had already won the series after thrashing New Zealand in the first three matches but a lop-sided contest in the previous game was a cause of concern for the side which didn’t have the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli.
However, according to Rohit, the team put up a combined effort after a poor start with the bat to ensure a 4-1 series win against the Black Caps.
“Especially after the Hamilton loss, that was a big loss for us the way we lost there. At the toss, I said we needed to come together as a team and we did that. Four down, we needed someone to apply, and Rayudu and Vijay Shankar did that. The way Hardik and Kedar played was magnificent. We showed a lot of character.
“With the ball as well. The wicket got flat at the end, with the dew. At one point it looked like it would be an easy chase. But
The Indian opener had won the toss earlier on Sunday but decided to bat first in spite of the testing conditions for the batsmen on the Wellington wicket. The skipper revealed after the game that he would have liked to bat second but as the series was already done and dusted, India opted to put runs on the board first.
“If the series was on the line, I would've batted second. Wasn't easy after losing four wickets at the start. Thought 250 was a very good score on that pitch. Bowlers got crucial breakthroughs at critical times. When you want to win games, you've got to find the right balance. Coming here and beating NZ at home wasn't going to be easy. The achievement we've had today is a great achievement to have.”
Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson talked about the challenging conditions to bat on the Wellington wicket during the post-match presentation. He credited the Indian team for the performance during a rare home series loss for the Balck Caps.
“Scoring rate never got away from us but it was just that we lost wickets at the wrong time. They did it pretty well through Rayudu with 90. For long
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