By: Tarish Bhatt
A shocking defeat in the 1st T20 in Dharamsala has not put India on a back-foot by any means, and the hosts are ready to bounce back in the 2nd T20 in Cuttack to level the three-match series at one game apiece.
Rohit Sharma, who made a magnificent century in the opening match of the series, is confident of putting the series on level terms at the Barabati Stadium on Monday.
“It was a good knock but we lost the game,” Rohit Sharma said. “I am pretty disappointed, it was unfortunate. No matter how much you scored, if you don’t win, your efforts are not counted, nothing really matters to me.”
“I’m sure we will come back strong. Overall, there’s a room for improvement, I’m sure the guys have learnt from it and they will come back stronger,” he added. “We have to do a lot of things right whether it’s batting or bowling, and come out all guns blazing.”
Rohit, meanwhile, recalled the difficult bowling conditions in Dharamsala as the Indian bowlers were taken for cleaners by South Africa batsmen, especially in the later part of the innings when Ravichandran Ashwin completed his quota of four overs.
The India opener said the dew played a big role in the last game as it made bowling difficult owing to which the hosts failed to win, despite putting 200 runs target for South Africa. Rohit, however, is confident that the bowlers would improve upon their last outing.
“There was a little bit of grass covering on the wicket and we thought there would be a bit of more seam movement but the dew took it away,” Rohit Sharma said. “I know they’re not too experienced but it’s the same with the South African attack. But when you play these kind of tournaments, you grow as a cricketer.”
“Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) has played quite a bit of late, Mohit has been a part of the team for a while now. (Sreenath) Aravind has just come in but he has been a proven character in domestic circuit.”
“We cannot take credit away from seamers but the dew made it difficult,” he concluded. “Overall, there’s a room for improvement, I’m sure the guys have learnt from it and they will come back stronger.”
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