Indian captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that his team “slipped up with the ball” following his team’s 12-run victory over New Zealand in the first ODI. In the first game of the three-match series on Wednesday at Hyderabad, India overcame a late onslaught from these two all-rounders to defeat New Zealand by 12 runs thanks to a superb bowling performance from Mohammed Siraj. This effort outweighed Michael Bracewell’s heroic century and partnership with Mitchell Santner.
“To be honest, the way he (Bracewell) was batting and the way it came on to the bat nicely, it was clean ball-striking. We knew that if we bowl well, we would be okay unless we really slipped up with the ball. Unfortunately, that’s what happened. I did say at the toss that I would like to see us challenge ourselves, not quite the situation I expected but that’s how it is,” said Rohit during a post-match presentation.
The skipper also lauded Shubman Gill, who scored an explosive double ton, and pacer Mohammed Siraj for their performances in the match. “He (Gill) is going really well. We the form he was in, we wanted to make use of it and that’s why we backed him in the SL series. Free-flowing batter and it is quite exciting to watch. Siraj has been brilliant, not just in this game but in the red-ball, T20 format, and now ODIs. Really good to see what he does with the ball. Executing what he wants to do and he is very clear about his plans. Which is how it should be,” concluded Rohit.
