Jaipur: Team India Captain Rohit Sharma said the team missed some regular players, but lauded the abilities of the new players who played a part in a nail-biting victory against New Zealand in the first of the three-match T20I series at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here.
"Technically, it was a good game. We missed a few players. But seeing what the new players have in terms of ability. I think the way we pulled it back in the last 3-4 overs was magnificent," he said in post-match presentation.
India are missing the services of top-notch players including Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya.
India pulled off a nail-biting match after Rishabh Pant whacked a boundary on the fourth legal ball of the final over bowled by Daryl Mitchell, after Rohit Sharma (48) and Suryakumar Yadav (62) laid the platform for batsmen to fire at the back end. India needed 10 runs off the last over.
As a team, the team is happy that the new players got to bat in that situation and finished the game off, Rohit said.
"Towards the end we saw it wasn't easy, it was great learning for the guys because those guys haven't batted in that situation before for India. It was great learning for them to understand what needs to be done, it's not about power hitting all the time and you try and put the ball to the left or right of the fielder and try and take singles or find boundaries. As a team we are happy that those guys got to bat in that situation and finished the game off," he said.
Rohit also credited the bowlers for the effort they put in. He lauded Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who looked to take wicket and put brakes on New Zealand batsmen.
"In the end it was a great effort from all our bowlers. They (Ashwin and Axar) bowl in tandem for the Delhi Capitals and they are always looking to take wickets which is a good sign and it's important to try and put the brakes and those guys do that," he said.
Commenting on Suryakumar Yadav's 62 runs match-winning innings, Rohit said, "Surya batted brilliantly and that's how he plays, he played some percentage shots as well and plays spin really well and uses the pace well for the fast bowlers."
On losing his wicket to Trent Boult, his Mumbai Indians mate in IPL, Rohit said the New Zealander knows his weakness and he fully utilised it to his advantage by foxing him up with a slower delivery which he ended up giving a catch.
"We (Boult and I) played a lot of cricket together and he knows my weakness and I know his strength, it's a good fight between the two. When I captain him I always tell him to bluff, and that's exactly what he did. He put the mid-wicket back and put the fine leg up and I knew he was gonna bowl a bouncer and I was just trying to put it over the fielder but unfortunately there wasn't much pace on the ball," he said. (UNI)
