Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Friday (18th February) lauded pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for delivering at a crucial stage for the team in the second T20I against West Indies in Kolkata.
India defeated West Indies in the nail-bitter second T20I by 8 runs to seal the series 2-0, with one match to go. Asked to bat first, the hosts had a shaky start as they lost opener Ishan Kishan for just 2 runs. Rohit Sharma (19) and Virat Kohli (52) then stitched 49 runs partnership to steady the innings.
But after the wicket of the skipper, India was in a spot of bother as they lost the next two wickets in quick succession of time and found themselves tumbling at 106/4. Rishabh Pant then came out all guns blazing and smashed West Indies bowlers all around the park.
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The wicketkeeper batter smashed his third T20I fifty and along with Venkatesh Iyer, who scored 33 runs, notched up 76 runs partnership to help India post a total of 186 runs on the board.
Defending the target, the Rohit Sharma-led side started well as they reduced West Indies to 59/2 at one stage. However, after that Nicholas Pooran (62) and Rovman Powell (68*) took charge against the Indian bowlers and registered 100 runs partnership to put them under pressure.
With 29 runs needed off the last two overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a sensational over and gave away just four runs and also removed well-set Nicholas Pooran. Even though Harshal Patel went for two sixes in the last over while defending 25 runs, he held his nerve in the end to win the match for his side.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma admitted that there’s a bit of fear when playing against West Indies. He’s proud that his team executed the plans well under pressure.
Indian skipper lauded Bhuvneshwar Kumar for an exceptional penultimate over. He remarked that the side believes in him and when he bowled it was a very crucial stage and he showed his experience.
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"You are always a bit scared when you are playing against these guys. In the end, it was a phenomenal finish. Right from the start, we knew it wouldn't be easy. But I am proud we executed our plans under pressure. It was very critical at that point when Bhuvneshwar bowled. That's where experience comes into play. Bhuvi has been doing it for many years and we believe in him a lot," Rohit Sharma said.
Sharma said that he’s disappointed with his side for showing sloppiness in the field. He admitted that if they had taken missed chances, they could’ve done better.
"We were a little sloppy in the field, a little disappointed with that. We could have done better if we had taken those catches. We want to try and minimize those mistakes moving forward," he said.
Rohit Sharma further lauded Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer for their heroics with the bat. He praised the all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh, saying that he showed great maturity and looked confident.
"The way Virat started he took the pressure off me as well. It was a very important innings. And great finish by Rishabh and Venky Iyer. To see that sort of maturity from Iyer is very pleasing. He looks confident and towards the end, he asked me if I wanted to give him an over," he said.
The dead rubber third T20I between India and West Indies will take place on Sunday (20th February) at the same venue.
(ANI inputs)
