After his team’s 68-run win over West Indies in the first T20I, India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed pleasant surprise by the visitors’ late charge with the bat, saying the pitch at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad wasn’t easy for shot-making at all
Asked to bat first, the tourists got off to a blazing start as Rohit smashed 64 off 44 balls while his opening partner Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with 16-ball 24. However, the likes of Shreyas Iyer (0), Rishabh Pant (14), Hardik Pandya (1) and Ravindra Jadeja (16) failed to step up.
In the end, Dinesh Karthik provided the finishing touch, slamming 41 not out off 19 balls (4 fours and 2 sixes) to propel India to 190/6 in 20 overs.
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"We knew it's going to be slightly tough, the shot making wasn't easy at the start. The guys who are set need to carry on for longer and the way we finished off the first innings was a great effort," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"When we finished the first 10 overs, we didn't think we could get to 190. It was a great effort from the boys and great finish. There are three facets of the game which we are trying to improve.
"We have got to try and back the ideas about executing it with the bat. We want to try certain things and all in all I thought it was a great effort."
The Indian captain further said his team is trying to execute certain skills with the bat. While Rohit is glad that they managed to pull it off in the first T20I, he highlighted the importance of reading the conditions and playing accordingly.
"We have given a specific role for the specific players to come and do the job for the team. Today we did it. There is no guarantee that it can happen every game but we have got to try and back those ideas of trying to go out there and trying to execute certain skills with the bat. And, while doing that, you will have some odd failures, but we are okay with that.
"We want to do certain things when things, and I think we are able to achieve certain things. All in all, it was a great effort. We want to continue doing that. But again we need to understand what sort of pitch we play on. Certain pitches will not allow you to do that. So, you will have to take a backward step and see how you can play in those over," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Rohit acknowledged the support Team India received from the crowd in Trinidad.
"I love playing here in West Indies. Indian team always receives great support from the Indian crowd coming in from the USA and also the local crowd here, quite superb to get such support," he concluded.
With this victory, the Rohit Sharma-led side took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. The second T20I is due to be played in St Kitts on Monday (August 1).
(With India Today inputs)
