Indian white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma, on Wednesday (9th February), heaped rich praise on pacer Prasidh Krishna for his brilliant bowling in the second ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad. He said that he has never seen a spell like that in India for a long time.
Team India defeated West Indies by 44 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead in the three-match ODI series. Asked to bat first, the Rohit Sharma-led side had a poor outing with the bat as they managed only 237 runs on the board.
After they were reduced to 43/3, Suryakumar Yadav (64) and KL Rahul (49) stitched 91 runs partnership to steady the Indian ship. Handy contributions by Deepak Hooda (29) and Washington Sundar (24) helped the hosts post a fighting total on the board.
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Defending the target, pacer Prasidh Krishna starred with the ball for his side. The right-arm quick bowled a staggering spell and took 4 wickets for just 12 runs. He was also awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling figures. Apart from him every other bowler chipped in and ensured that India win the game by 44 runs and seal the series.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma said that winning the series is a good feeling for his side as there were many challenges. He also lauded the partnership between KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav for taking India to a respectable total in the end.
He added that it’s important for batters on their side to bat under pressure and then only their character can be judged.
"Obviously winning the series is a good feeling. There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity. We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out.
“The entire unit came out and bowled superbly. It is important for these guys to bat under pressure and that is how you will judge their character," Rohit Sharma said.
Sharma said that they don’t mind losing a few games trying out new things and it’s important for them to look at long-term goals.
The Indian skipper heaped rich praise on pacer Prasidh Krishna, saying that he has never seen a spell-like that in India for a long time. He lauded other bowlers for complimenting him.
"We don't mind losing a few games trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long-term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination. I was a little surprised to see no dew. I have never seen a spell-like that in India for a long time now. Prasidh bowled with a lot of pace and kept it going. The others complimented him," he said.
Rohit Sharma further lauded Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul for their knocks. He said that he has been told by the management to try something different and by sending Rishabh Pant up the order they wanted to try it in one game.
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He also revealed that Shikhar Dhawan will be back for the last game.
"Surya had to take his time and understand what the team wants from him. KL also batted superbly as he is consistently up and down in the order. I have been asked to try something different. We wanted to try it one game. Shikhar should be back for the next game. When you have five bowlers and Deepak being sixth, you always need to keep rotating the bowlers," he said.
The dead-rubber third ODI between India and West Indies will be played on Friday (11th February) at the same venue.
(ANI inputs)
