Especially happy with Rohit: Sehwag
First Published : 03 Dec 2011, 17:17
Last Modified : 03 Dec 2011, 17:17
Visakhapatnam, Dec 3: Having won the second one-day comfortably to go 2-0 up in the series against West Indies, captain Virender Sehwag was pleased with the improved performance of the Indian batsmen. He lauded Rohit Sharma for finishing the game and was appreciative of Umesh Yadav’s bowling in particular. His own batting was not a cause for worry for the instinctive cricketer who takes things as they come.
In the post-match press conference, the opener spoke about his team’s strengths and weaknesses and his own form.
Excerpts:
On the batsmen doing a better job than in the Cuttack game
Absolutely, I am very happy with their performance, especially Rohit [Sharma’s]. He mentioned in the press conference [there] that he wants to stay till the end and he finished games for us and Virat [Kohli] batted superbly [too]. They both batted like mature men. [It’s as if] they [have] almost played 200 matches [put together] but if you look at their records, one [has] played 65-odd matches and the other, 50 [matches approximately].
On not being able to restrict WI to a smaller total after having them down for 170 for nine
Yes, I think with the new ball Umesh [Yadav] and Vinay [Kumar] bowled really well; they took five wickets. [West Indies] were 170 for [the loss of] nine [wickets] and suddenly [Ravi] Rampaul came and he started slogging and everything was connecting. I tried everything; I brought the fast bowlers back and then I gave the spinners [the ball] but the day belonged to Ravi Rampaul. Every ball he connected went for six and four; he batted really well and full credit to him too.
On the possibility of Gautam Gambhir opening instead of Parthiv Patel given the latter’s lack of runs in the past few games
We will think about it but right now we are not worried about Parthiv. [Such things] happens with the opener when he comes out to bat after 50 overs of fielding. You may be a little tired and you get out early on but he has to learn, he has to be consistent in his performance. He is a young lad and he is learning and I’m sure in the coming matches he will do well.
On Umesh Yadav
He is a good lad [and] he is learning every day, game by game and he is improving [in] every match and he bowled superbly [here]. The first spell he bowled he took two wickets and then he bowled one more over and he took one more wicket. He is improving a lot and I am pretty happy with the bowlers’ performance.
On how crucial the WI ODI series was for Rohit and Virat in the context of the series ahead
It is important for everyone; whoever is going to Australia. It is important to score runs, then you will get confidence. You can take that confidence to Australia and play well there. Australia is a big challenge but I am sure they will handle [it]. When they go to Australia they will practice hard and they will get used to the bounce and pace conditions [and] hopefully they will do well.
On his own form
I am not thinking about myself. My batting is natural and I am not worried about myself because sometimes you start hitting from the first ball [while] sometimes you take time. Today I wasn’t even connecting everything […] It happens. [On] some days you are trying to work hard and you get edges, two catches [were] dropped. But when I go to Ahmedabad – it’s a different ground, different atmosphere and different day – I think I will be fine.
