India captain Rohit Sharma relished the confidence gained from the series victory at Edgbaston on Saturday.
“We know how good England are as a team, not just at home but everywhere they go. When you win games there is confidence in the group and it is important how the boys feel,” said Rohit.
That the boys managed to keep the momentum going after their first win in Southampton on Thursday was the most pleasing aspect for Rohit.
“We will look to continue and focus on what lies ahead. I wanted to see how we do after a win and cope with the challenge as a group,” he said.
Rohit agreed that Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten knock of 46 stood out and that he put it beyond the home team in the middle overs.
“It was a brilliant knock under pressure. We wanted someone to bat through and get us a score...With his experience of the hundred at this ground, he was calm and collective and finished it well towards the end. At no point we were feeling he was panicking. It was good to finish on a score we thought was par on that surface.”
Rohit felt India’s attacking intent in the Powerplay is making the difference. “We understand the importance of the Powerplay, be it scoring runs or taking wickets. Our Powerplay in both the games was superb,” he said.
The skipper though indicated that there could be some changes in the XI for the final match at Trent Bridge on Sunday. “We look forward to another game tomorrow (Sunday). We wanted to give the guys sitting on the bench a chance, I will go back and speak to the coach about that. We need to keep ticking the boxes and move forward.”
Man of the Match Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took three for 15 in his three overs, felt the conditions helped him succeed. “When the ball swings, you definitely enjoy. In the last few years, there hasn’t been much help with the ball in England but this year it’s more. White ball getting swing upfront is a motivational factor for a fast bowler and batters have to take their chances,” Bhuvi said.
The pacer has dismissed the in-form Jos Buttler in both the matches now to stifle England’s chances. “We know Buttler is a dangerous player. If the ball swings, it motivates you to do things against a particular batsman,” he said.
Bhuvi didn’t wish to make a comment on his fitness though. “Honestly I don’t want to talk about injuries. If anyone asks me the same in India, I don’t answer it, sorry. I am playing so it seems it’s good.”
Buttler’s stint as captain hasn’t begun on an encouraging note and the opener didn’t hide his feelings.
“The results have been very disappointing... I don’t think we played well enough to consider batting first as an option. We didn’t play anywhere close to what we wanted and deserved to lose. The bowlers were excellent especially (Richard) Gleeson and (Chris) Jordan. Any time you lose three wickets in the Powerplay it is hard to catch up,” the England limited overs captain said.
Today’s match: 7pm IST, at Trent Bridge, live on Sony Six & Sony Ten 3
