Rohit Sharma wants his team to learn from Sunday’s loss to Pakistan because “games like this can bring the best out of players”. While last Sunday it was India who pulled off a thrilling chase, this time the honours went to Pakistan as they chased down a 182-run target in the penultimate ball of the match with five wickets still in hand. Captain Rohit was not totally unhappy with his side’s effort.
“It’s a high-pressure game and you have to be at it every time. A game like that can take a lot out of you... but we were quite calm at the backend... and even in the middle when (Mohammad) Rizwan and (Mohammad) Nawaz had a partnership going. But it went too long and they batted brilliantly,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Opener Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with an innings of 71 off 51 balls, while Nawaz, who earlier got a wicket with his left-arm spin, played a blinder, making 42 off 20 balls. Together, the two of them shared a 73-run partnership that boosted Pakistan’s chase to a great degree.
Rohit believes that his team has the potential to win such close games. “Games like this can bring the best out of players. There will be times when they will be challenged and things might not go their way. There’s potential in the players and they’ve done it in the past. There’s class in the opposition team as well,” he said.
“We want to play with an open mindset. While taking that approach you’ll not always have success,” he added. One of the plus points for India from the game was Virat Kohli’s batting. The former captain, who hasn’t been at his fluent best of late, was India’s best batter on the day, authoring an innings of 60 off 44 balls before he was run out. Rohit thinks Kohli is in good form.
“Virat’s form is brilliant, there’s no doubt about that,” Rohit said. He also did not have any complaints about India’s total of 181/7, terming it a “good score”. “Any pitch, any conditions, 180 is a good score. But if you don’t pick wickets in the middle, it’s going to be tough. We got to learn a lot today... Credit to Pakistan, they obviously played better than us.”