Indian captain Rohit Sharma was delighted after they defeated Australia by six wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday to clinch the three-match series 2-1. However, Rohit admitted that there are still a lot of areas for improvement, particularly in death bowling.
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were returning after recuperating from their respective injuries and thus they were not seen at their best. Bumrah conceded 50 runs in his quota of four overs in the third T20I, and it is his most expensive bowling figure in T20I cricket while Harshal Patel conceded 18 runs in the two overs he bowled.
Furthermore, Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued to be expensive as he was taken for 39 runs in the three overs he bowled. Indian fast bowlers could not stem the flow of runs at the fag end of the innings and it is definitely a concern while heading into the T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “It’s a special place. We have had great memories playing for India and when I played for Deccan Chargers as well. The biggest positive was different individuals stepping up and delivering. You feel good about it as a management. The margin of error in T20s is small. We took our chances, we were brave as well. Sometimes it doesn’t come off. There are areas to improve as well. Not easy coming back after a break against a tough team. They (Bumrah and Harshal) will take some time. Hopefully, they can get back into their groove in the next series.”
Meanwhile, India won the third T20I after Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli played brilliant knocks to help their team chase down the target of 187 runs. Yadav scored a fine inning of 69 runs off just 36 balls as he batted at the top of his game whereas Kohli contributed with 63 runs before Hardik Pandya added the finishing touches with a 16-ball 25.
Yadav and Kohli added a fine alliance of 104 runs after India lost the early wickets of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Yadav was the aggressor as he scored all around the ground and played the field with guile.
India will now face South Africa in the three-match T20I and ODI series at home.
