Indian opener Rohit Sharma has once again shown his class with the willow to help the Men in Blue to win a thriller Super Over to clinch the first-ever Twenty20 International series in New Zealand on Wednesday (January 29) at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
In the third T20I in Hamilton, India thrashed the Black Caps via Super Over to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match T20I series and won their first series on the Kiwi soil on Wednesday.
After scores were tied with both teams at 179, the “Hit-man” has yet again shown why he is one of the foremost six-hitter in the cricket world by cracking brilliant two sixes off the final two deliveries of the Super Over to chase down the target of 18 to bag the series for India in Hamilton.
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He was adjudged Man of the Match for hitting the winning runs for Men in Blue in the third T20I, scoring 65 off 40 balls in the original match and then scored 15 runs off 4 balls against the Kiwi.
After helping India to win its first-ever T20I series in New Zealand, the 32-year-old revealed his game plan, saying he wanted to keep a clear head and back his skills to get the job done, as he never batted in the Super Over for the team.
Rohit said after the Hamilton T20I, “Never done that before (batting in Super Over). I didn’t know what to expect, whether to go from the first ball or wait for a while. I just wanted to stay still and then try my best (on the last two sixes).”
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Stressing the importance of the record-making Hamilton T20I, the opener said it was important for the "important" members of the team to step up make the occasion memorable.
He signed off by saying, “Good performance with the bat, disappointed at having thrown my wicket away though. I hadn’t got runs in the first two games, wanted to do well today. We knew we would win the series today if we win the match - in important games, the main players need to step up.”
Meanwhile, Kane Williamson, whose knock of 95 games went in vain in Hamilton, was disappointed with the defeat as it was “much better performance from” the hosts, lamenting the fact that small moments in the match did not go their way despite getting a superb start against India.
Williamson said, “Super overs haven’t been too successful for us. India showed their experience in the crunch situation. We bowled well after they got off to a superb start. Very disappointing. It was nice to spend some time in the middle. It was disappointing not to cross the finishing lines. It is a game of small margins. It was a much better performance from us.”
The fourth T20I will be played on Friday, 31 January in Wellington followed by the final on 2 February at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
(With India Today Inputs)
