India secured an important victory to level the three-match T20I series in Nagpur on Friday, 23 September and starring on a rian-curtailed match night was skipper Rohit Sharma who helped the Men in Blue chase down a target of 91 runs in an eight-over game.
Sharma hit four sixes and four boundaries, scoring 46 off just 20 balls as India chased down the total with four balls remaining. It was necessary for India to win this match if they were to level the series 1-1, and Rohit, who underperformed in the first T20I in Mohali garnered the criticism of Sunil Gavaskar, now earned his praise.
Speaking to the official broadcaster Star Sports, Gavaskar said that Rohit's measured approach helped him in the match. "What you saw with Rohit today was a measured approach. It wasn't anything where he was looking to defend, but he was being a lot more selective. And look, when he is playing those flick shots or the swivel pull shots, he is very good at that," he said.
Where he gets into trouble is where he is looking to play on the off-side, just tonks it up like that, that's where he hits the ball up in the air rather than into the stands. That's the only thing that he is going to watch out for," Sunil Gavaskar said after the commencement of the second T20I in Nagpur.
The Indian top order has not fired in unison for a while, with Rohit Sharma falling the victim to his attacking approach many times. But on the night, the batter stood like a pillar on one end, while India lost the rest of their top order.
"Otherwise, when he is hitting it in his range, he has got absolutely no problems at all. That's what he should be looking to do. Today was such a measured innings. He was waiting, cutting the ball, pulling, he was not going bang straight away. That is the reason why he batted so brilliantly," Gavaskar explained.
The final match of the ongoing series will take place in Hyderabad where the two teams will play a decider with the series tied level after two matches. The game is scheduled for 25 September at 7pm.
