Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar lauded the Rohit Sharma-led side for their ability to keep calm under pressure when things were not going their way during the last two T20I matches between India and West Indies, in which the home side won 3-0 on February 20.
India put in dominant displays to blank the visiting West Indies team, earning a 3-0 clean sweep in the series helped the Men in Blue go to the top of the ICC T20I team rankings.
However there were periods of play where the West Indies dominated the Indian bowlers, but each time, India overcame the difficult situations to come out on top in the match.
Following India's 17-run win over the West Indies in the third and final T20I at the Eden Gardens, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the "most impressive" aspect of India's wins, especially in the final two games.
"What has been most impressive in the last two wins was the way in the middle overs when the game was slipping from their hands. They never lost their composure. The bowlers are going to be taken (for runs) in T20s when the batters are on a roll. But they were not panicking," Gavaskar said on Star Sports' post-match show.
He also lauded Rohit Sharma, the captain for the bowling changes he made.
"There were bowling changes when one bowler was not bowling well, he was quickly taken off after another over. The guy who was bowling well like a Harshal Patel was brought in again. The use of Venkatesh Iyer to fill in for Deepak Chahar. So, these are all signs of composure. No panicking," he said.
Apart from that, Gavaskar was full of praise for fellow Mumbaikar Suryakumar Yadav, whose 65 in 31 balls with 7 sixes, helped India post 184/5 batting first in the third T20I match. Yadav added 91 runs for the fifth wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (35*).
"I think he (Suryakumar) is pretty much making a case for inclusion (for the T20 World Cup). In the first match, he and Venkatesh Iyer combined to take India home when things were looking just a little bit difficult. But here, you've lost for wickets. For them to bat the way they did was truly a sign that shows the team is making right progress. This is very encouraging," Gavaskar said.
India will now prepare for Sri Lanka, who will visit for a three-match T20I series and two Tests, with the 20-over matches beginning from Thursday.
