Rohit Sharma expressed pride after India’s 243-run victory over South Africa at Eden Gardens, which kept his team atop the points table. The skipper said that the pitch was challenging for batting, and highlighted the importance of someone like Virat Kohli who handled the situation. He also credited Shreyas Iyer for his partnership with Kohli in setting a big target.
“It wasn’t an easy pitch today, you needed someone like Kohli to bat through that situation,” said Rohit. “Not to forget Shreyas as well, for creating that partnership for us and getting the runs on the board. We knew we had the runs on the board. It was time to keep the ball in the right areas, which we did.”
Rohit praised Ravindra Jadeja for his outstanding all-round performance. Jadeja’s 29-run cameo towards the end of the innings helped India post a formidable total of 326, and he later secured a five-wicket haul with the ball. The skipper lauded Jadeja’s consistent role as a match-winner in various formats.
“He’s been really good, a big match-winner for us, playing in all three formats for many years now. He keeps doing the job done for us, but goes under the radar. Today was a classic case of knowing what Jadeja is for us.”
On the other hand, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma admitted that his side had not done enough to change the perception that his team struggles while chasing targets. He acknowledged that they need to address the issue.
“We know what the narrative is out there about us and chasing. We didn’t do that any justice. We have our conversations as a batting group, we’ve got to look at the things that didn’t go right,” said Bavuma.
Bavuma spoke of the first 10 overs with the ball, where Rohit and Shubman Gill’s partnership set the tone for the match. “That did make it a bit of a challenge. They got 90 in the first ten and only (lost) two wickets.”