Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Rohit Sharma: 'I never thought the pitch was going to play like that'

Written by 
Published in Cricket
Thursday, 27 July 2023 12:36
On a Kensington Oval pitch that offered bounce and carry for seamers, and turn for spinners, 15 wickets fell in less than 46 overs in the first ODI between West Indies and India. After being sent in, West Indies were all out for 114 in 23 overs. India, who promoted their white-ball specialists up the order, lost five wickets in the chase before Rohit Sharma, batting at No. 7, hit the winning runs.

"To be honest, I never thought the pitch was going to play like that," Rohit said at the post-match presentation. "It had everything for seamers and spinners, and the run-scoring was quite difficult. But to restrict them to that score was a superb effort from our bowling unit.

"We never thought we would lose five wickets but it was good to give some game time to a lot of those ODI guys who have just come in. But firstly, it was important for us to get into a good position. Restricting them to 115 [114] was a great effort, and I thought we had that commanding position that we needed, which is why we thought okay, we could try some of those guys who haven't played a lot of cricket in a while and give them a go.

"I don't know when they will get time moving forward, so whenever we get an opportunity like that, we will try to accommodate all these guys."

Rohit also praised Mukesh Kumar who, having made his Test debut earlier on the tour, was playing his first ODI. The seamer started with a maiden and bowled a tight line and length, although his first wicket in the format came off a delivery that was short and wide - Alick Athanaze failed to clear a leaping Ravindra Jadeja at backward point.

"Mukesh has been brilliant," Rohit said. "Even in the Test series we saw he can swing the new ball, has got a bit of pace and is quite consistent as well. So we want to see what he has to offer. I haven't seen much of him in domestic cricket either, so it was good to see him playing with the white ball as well."

West Indies captain Shai Hope, meanwhile, lamented the lack of application by his batters. Despite losing three wickets inside nine overs, West Indies had reached 88 for 3 with Hope looking in full control. Jadeja then triggered a collapse by sending back Shimron Hetmyer, and West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 26 runs.

"Too many words come to mind but let's just say we didn't play the way we needed to," Hope said. "On a challenging surface like that, as a batting group, we need to find ways to score.

"Anyone who was watching can see what happened there. Any 9.30am start in the Caribbean will be difficult [for batting] and the Indian bowlers bowled pretty well on this surface, but again we didn't score enough runs."

Read 157 times

Soccer

Man City face 'tough' season after late collapse

Man City face 'tough' season after late collapse

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPep Guardiola said Manchester City are in for a "tough" season afte...

Man City need more than Haaland as season sits on knife's edge

Man City need more than Haaland as season sits on knife's edge

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMANCHESTER, England -- For 75 minutes on Tuesday night, Manchester...

10-man PSG drop to 26th in narrow loss to Bayern

10-man PSG drop to 26th in narrow loss to Bayern

Bayern Munich battled past 10-man Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League thanks to Kim Min-...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Giannis out vs. Heat due to pregame knee issue

Giannis out vs. Heat due to pregame knee issue

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMIAMI -- Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for Tues...

Sources: Kings closing in on deal for Crowder

Sources: Kings closing in on deal for Crowder

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFree-agent forward Jae Crowder is close to a deal with the Sacramen...

Baseball

Dodgers split $46M from record MLB playoff pool

Dodgers split $46M from record MLB playoff pool

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- A full postseason share for the World Series champion L...

Starter or reliever? Stay with the Phillies or go elsewhere? All-Star Jeff Hoffman opens up on free agency

Starter or reliever? Stay with the Phillies or go elsewhere? All-Star Jeff Hoffman opens up on free agency

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsJeff Hoffman is one of the most sought-after relievers in this offs...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated