Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said on Sunday that he “enjoyed” scoring a hundred for the team, and attributed his century to him “breaking down” his batting approach in Cuttak on Sunday. Came into the second ODI against England with a string low-scores against his name, Rohit shushed his doubters with a masterly 90-ball 32nd ODI hundred, also containing 12 fours and seven sixes. It helped India register a nine-wicket win, and grab the three-match series 2-0. “It was good and really enjoyed being out there, scoring some runs for the team. It was an important game with the series on the line but I broke it down to pieces about how I wanted to bat,” Rohit said during the presentation ceremony.
“(ODIs are) longer than T20s and shorter than Tests and I wanted to break it down. I wanted to bat as deep as possible and that was my focus.” Rohit said he wanted to place the ball precisely in the gaps as the England bowlers were aiming at his body.
“Looking at the pitch – when you play on black soil, it tends to skid on a bit and you have to show the full face of the bat initially.
“They bowled into the body and kept it on the stumps and that’s where I prepared my plan and tried to access the gaps.”
The Mumbaikar praised his opening partner Shubman Gill for assisting him to get the team off to a flier.
“I got very good support from Gill and Shreyas (Iyer) as well. I enjoy batting with Gill. He is a very classy player and doesn’t seem to get overawed by the situation and the numbers are there as well.”
The 37-year-old said the bowlers applied the break to a nicety over England in the middle overs after the visitors got off the block quickly.
“The middle overs are quite important and that’s where the game can go either side. If you squeeze the middle overs, you need not worry much about the death.
“The middle overs is very crucial and even in Nagpur, we squeezed them and got wickets. When you keep taking wickets, the run-scoring is not easy,” he said.
Without giving away the specifics, Rohit said he wanted to see overall improvements in the team ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, beginning on February 19.
“Nothing specific we want to work on but overall we want to keep getting better as a player and team. As long as guys are clear about what they are supposed to do, if they keep doing that not much to think about,” said Rohit, who understandably was player of the match.
Rohit made it look easy: Gill
Vice-captain Shubman Gill lauded skipper Rohit for cracking a hundred full of character.
“Was feeling good when I was batting and, obviously, batting with Rohit bhai, he makes it look easy.
“The way he took on the bowlers, we have seen that in the last couple of years, how he has batted in ODIs,” said Gill.
Gill, who made a fluent 60 and added 136 runs in just 16.4 overs, said it was good pitch to bat.
“It was a good wicket to bat on, the odd ball was keeping a bit low but overall a good wicket. The chat was simple, just play according to the ball and try and dominate when you can,” he added.
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