Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that he was impressed with the way Rohit Sharma batted with freedom in his first series as a full-time T20I captain for India against New Zealand. 

Team India outplayed New Zealand in the third T20I to clinch the series (3-0). The Rohit Sharma-led side displayed sensational performance throughout the series as every player chipped in at some stage to complete the whitewash. 

Skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front in the entire series and scored 159 runs in the three matches, registering two half-centuries as well. The right-handed batter registered scores of 48, 55, and 56 in the series and also had a strike of over 150. 

Read Also: Middle-order an area of concern for India, says Irfan Pathan

In the final game at Kolkata, where other Indian batters failed to get going, the skipper scored his second half-century of the series and also smashed 3 sixes and 5 boundaries during his knock.

Rohit Sharma was also awarded the Player of the Series in his first series as a full-time T20I skipper. 

Speaking on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir said that the way Rohit Sharma performed in the T20I series against New Zealand was the big positive for the team as sometimes captaincy takes the freedom out of a player’s game but it wasn’t the case with Rohit. 

"He has done it (scoring big) year after year. It's good that it's coming while he is the full-time captain. Performing the way he did is a huge positive. Because sometimes captaincy can take the freedom out of your game but it didn't happen with Rohit," Gautam Gambhir said 

Gambhir praised Rohit Sharma's mature leadership, while also adding that it was "no surprise". He said the more impressive factor that emerged in the series was him playing freely despite being the full-time captain.

“Yes, he has captained previously as well but wasn't the full-time captain. This series showed his maturity and what he has done in this series is no surprise. But what was impressive is the way he played with a lot of freedom despite being announced as full-time captain," he said. 

Defending the target in the third T20I, Rohit Sharma brought Akshar Patel into the attack in the third over. The move to bring the spinner early paid off as he took three wickets in his two overs inside the power play to put New Zealand on the back foot. 

While talking about the same, Gambhir said that Rohit Sharma did great captaincy by bringing Akshar Patel in the third over and followed it with the over of Yuzvendra Chahal. He added that his moves showed his maturity as a leader and his ability to stay ahead of the game.

“Very, very good captaincy from Rohit Sharma. Bringing on Akshar Patel in the 3rd over and getting Yuzvendra Chahal in the 4th over. These are small, small things, sometimes, you might just miss. But this is what captaincy is all about, always staying ahead of the game and he got the results,” he said. 

Read Also: Ajinkya Rahane is "pretty fortunate" to be still part of the Indian squad- Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir said that Rohit Sharma has won 5 IPL titles and now he started off the series with a clean sweep, which depicts what captaincy does in T20I cricket. 

"He is someone who won 5 titles in the IPL and now he has started off this series with a clean sweep. So this is what captaincy does in T20I cricket,"  he concluded. 

Team India will now face New Zealand in the two-match Test series. The first match will be played from 25th November in Kanpur while the second Test will be played in Mumbai from 3rd December. 

(Star Sports inputs)