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'Our bowlers have some serious skills,' praises Rohit after India beat New Zealand in 2nd ODI
‘Our bowlers have some serious skills,’ praises Rohit after India beat New Zealand in 2nd ODI
- India defeated New Zealand by 8 wickets in the second ODI
- The Kiwis were bowled out for 108 in 34.3 overs
- Shami was Player of the Match for his spell of 3 for 18
Rohit Sharma on Saturday heaped praise on Indian bowlers, saying they have "some serious skills" after India defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the second One-Day International (ODI).
India bowled out New Zealand for a mere total of 108 in 34.3 overs, with Mohammed Shami being the best of the lot having picked up three wickets for just 18 runs in six overs. Indian skipper Rohit used six bowlers in the second ODI and each of those bowlers bagged at least one wicket.
By winning the second ODI in Raipur, India gained an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series against the BlackCaps.
"The last five games, bowlers have really stepped up. Whatever we have asked of them, they have stepped up and delivered. You don't usually see this type of seam movement in India, you generally see it outside India. These guys have some serious skills, they work really hard and it's great to see them being rewarded. We trained yesterday and the ball was nipping around under lights. We knew that if they had 250 or so, it might have been challenging for us but that was the point of opting to chase.
"We batted first last game, so the idea was to challenge ourselves. Not sure what I'll do at Indore (in the final game). The confidence is high within the group and that's great to see. They (Shami and Siraj) were raring to keep bowling long spells but I reminded them that there is a Test series coming up as well (Australia at home), so we need to take care of themselves as well. I'm trying to change my game a bit now, have been trying to take the bowlers on and I think that's important. I know the big scores haven't come, but I'm not too worried about it," said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
New Zealand's top five batters were dismissed for a single digit score with Glenn Phillips top scoring with his knock of 36 off 52 deliveries.
India's opening batsmen Rohit and Shubman Gill put up 72 runs for the first wicket before the Indian captain got out after scoring a half-century. While Rohit scored 50 off 51 balls, his 48th ODI fifty, Gill remained unbeaten on 40 off 52 balls.
"It was a good opportunity for me to stay unbeaten in the middle. There was a little in it for the fast bowlers in the second innings, thought there would be more when we saw them bat, but there wasn't a lot (when we batted). But it was turning and gripping for the spinners. It's always a dream to bat with Rohit bhai, have learnt a lot of batting along with him. Me and Ishan Kishan) are best mates, we spend a lot of time off-field together, it was great to spend some time batting together," said Gill after the game ended in Raipur.
The third ODI between India and New Zealand is scheduled to be played on Tuesday in Indore. After this, their focus will turn to the T20I, with the first game due to take place on Jan. 27 in Ranchi.
