Rohit Sharma after India's win at Oval: Know the importance of opening, glad I could contribute

Rohit Sharma was named the Player of the Match for his 127 in the second innings as India defeated England by 157 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match Test series.

It was Rohit's eighth century and first away from home and the opening batsman termed it as his "best" so far in his Test career. Apart from Rohit's hundred, half-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur helped Team India to set a match-winning target of 368. Even though England ended Day 4 at 77 for no loss, the Indian bowlers derailed Joe Root's batting line up as the hosts were bowled out for 210 with more than 30 overs remaining on the final day at the Oval.

"I wanted to be on the field but getting that hundred was special, 100 behind we knew how important it was to give them a target of 370-odd. A great effort from the batting unit. It's my first overseas hundred, so obviously my best one. The three-figure mark wasn't in my mind, we knew the pressure on the batting unit, but kept our heads down and batted the situation," said Rohit in a post-match interview on Monday.

In the ongoing series, England captain Root is the leading run scorer, having scored 564 runs in seven innings at an average of 94, including three centuries. Second in the list is Rohit with 368 runs at an average of 52.57, including a century and two fifties.

"Not been preying on my mind, just try to get the team into a good position. With 30, or 80, or 150-plus. I used to bat middle-order, but I know the importance of opening. Once you're in you've got to make it count. It's important to embrace the challenge, back in Durham we had time off to look at our training and technique, after WTC we had 20-25 days and that was a game-changer. Batted well as we've been challenged, especially at Leeds, but that can happen. The message from the physio [re hamstrings] is 'assess every minute, don't look too far ahead'," added Rohit in the same interview.

Meanwhile, England skipper Root credited India's bowling, saying they got the ball to reverse and that was the "turning point."

"Frustrating not to get something from the game today, we felt we had an opportunity to win, but credit to India, they got the ball to reverse and that was the turning point. Could have made more of a first-innings lead, and you have to make chances count against world-class players. Got to find ways to get better but be realistic and realise that was world-class bowling. It might reverse at OT, we'll have to manage it better. Whenever you lose the game you can look at the toss, but we've got to be more ruthless, and make that a 200-run lead. Got to be clinical, not be comfy, make big partnerships. We have played good cricket and important to remember that," added Root after England's loss at The Oval on Monday.

The fifth and final Test is scheduled to begin on Sept. 10 (Friday) at Old Trafford, Manchester.