Virat, Rohit batted maturely: Sehwag
First Published : 03 Dec 2011, 05:43
Last Modified : 03 Dec 2011, 05:43
Visakhapatnam, Dec 2: India beat West Indies by five wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match bilateral ODI series thanks to a glorious partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Skipper Virender Sehwag acknowledged the match-winning partnership and the efforts of his bowlers in the post-match presentation.
Excerpts:
On chasing down a stiff target of 270
I think our bowlers did a good fantastic job with the new ball, especially [Umesh] Yadav and Vinay Kumar; they picked up three and two wickets [respectively] and bowled really well and Varun Aaron [too]. It was an off day for [R] Ashwin but [Ravindra] Jadeja bowled really well. Full marks to Ravi Rampaul – the way he batted [was] why they achieved 269. But Virat [Kohli] and Rohit [Sharma] batted really well throughout.
On what was going through his mind during the 99-run partnership for the last wicket between Rampaul and Kemar Roach
I tried everything. I gave the ball to [Suresh] Raina, Ashwin, Jadeja and then brought the fast bowlers back; but the day belonged to Ravi Rampaul. He was connecting [bat to the ball] and [hitting] sixes. He hit six sixes and six fours so I said, ‘Ok. [If] he is hitting like that you can’t do anything. Let’s concentrate on our batting.’
On the youngsters getting an opportunity and finishing the game
They batted like mature men. They have played only 50 or 60 games [approximately], especially Virat and Rohit, but they batted like they were really mature. Rohit [played] really well. He is one of the talented boys in our side and he is playing so well. Hopefully he will carry on in the [remaining] games.
On whether he was happy with the efforts today
Yes, absolutely. The ground was fantastic and the crowd was really good and supported us really well. [Addressing crowd] Thank you very much for supporting team India.
On keeping the momentum going with three matches to go
Yes, thank you.
