In the second One-Day International against New Zealand on Saturday, Indian pacers dominated, dismissing the visitors for a pitiful 108 runs. The best bowler was Mohammed Shami, who took three wickets for 18 runs. Mohammed Siraj also shown great skill with the new ball, taking one wicket for just 10 runs in six overs. In bowler-friendly conditions, the two wanted to keep pushing the Kiwi hitters, but Rohit Sharma had to stop them.
Shami and Siraj reportedly wanted to continue their exploits after noticing the kind of assistance pacers were receiving in the middle, but Rohit intervened and chose to give the ball to other bowlers.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit acknowledged that he had to step in because Siraj and Shami wouldn’t back down.
“They (Shami and Siraj) were eager to keep bowling extended periods, but I told them that we also needed to take care of ourselves because a Test series against Australia at home was coming up. I must intervene to draw the line and inform the boss that there are other bowlers there “he said.
The Indian skipper was extremely complimentary of his team’s bowlers for their efforts during the game. He stated: “I believed the bowlers significantly improved over the course of the final five games. They have complied with all of our requests. Particularly in India, do this These performances may be anticipated outside of India, yet they possess genuine talent. It moved about and had nice carry when we exercised here yesterday night. We wanted that challenge since 250 would have been difficult.”
He stated the following when discussing the victory and the strategy for the second ODI: “The ball was scurrying about in the lights as we were practising yesterday. We were aware that chasing them would have been difficult if they had more than 250, but that was the whole objective. The goal was to test ourselves because we batted first in the last game. I’m unsure of my plans for Indore (in the final game). It’s encouraging to see that the group has a lot of confidence.”
