Batting risk paid off, says Rohit
India captain Rohit Sharma conceded they took a risk trying to force a result in the rain-truncated second Test against Bangladesh and was pleased it paid off resulting in a memorable victory.
A draw loomed large over the match after two-and-a-half days were lost to bad weather with only 35 overs played in the first three days at the Green Park Stadium.
Even after India bowled out Bangladesh for 233 on Day 4, few expected a result until India came out to bat for the first time. Opener Rohit himself led from front, whacking the first two balls he faced for sixes and India went on to eclipse Bangladesh’s total in 28 overs scoring at a rate unprecedented in Test cricket. By the end of Day 4, India declared their innings on 285/9 and even removed both the Bangladesh openers.
On Tuesday, they claimed the remaining eight Bangladesh wickets in an extended morning session bundling out the tourists for 146. Needing 95 to win, India lost three wickets before overwhelming the target with more than a session to go.
“We had to think a lot how the game can keep moving forward,” Rohit said of their race against time to win the match. “When we came on Day 4, we wanted to get them out as early as possible and see what we can do with the bat. The pitch didn’t have much for bowlers but to get a game out of that pitch was a great effort from the bowlers, and the batters bought into that thought of ... scoring as quickly as possible,” he added.
“It was a risk that we were willing to take... when you are trying to bat like that, it’s very easy to get bundled out for a low score as well. Even if we got all out for 150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to get a result,” he added.
It was breathtaking batting on Monday as India reached 50 in three overs, 100 in 10.1 overs, and 200 in 24.2 overs — the fastest ever by a Test team.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said his batters needed to do better.
“We didn’t bat well,” said Shanto, who had arrived in India on a high his team’s 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan last month. “If you look at our batters, they played 30-40 balls and then got out. It’s important for one batsman to get big runs.”
