NEW DELHI: India made a strong statement after being humbled in the first ODI by Sri Lanka bowlers at Dharamsala with a huge 141-run win in the second ODI at Mohali, and at the forefront of this comeback was stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma who notched up his third ODI double hundred, in just 151 deliveries. The superlative knock became even more special as it came on the day of his marriage anniversary and it was a very emotional moment for Sharma's wife who was at Mohali to witness the incredible knock.
ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma scores third ODI double-century
After the match, Sharma was interviewed by Team India head coach Ravi Shastri for bcci.tv and the opener revealed what different did he do this time around after missing out in Dharamsala. "I kept telling myself that unless I make a mistake, I am not getting out," said Sharma about the way he started his knock. "I wanted them to get me out. I didn't want to throw away my wicket. So that was something I kept telling myself and I was quite determined to bat as long as possible. The wicket was superb and the outfield here was so fast. I just kept telling myself to hold the position, hold the shape and hit through the line. That's all I did," added the batsman, who took a while to settle in scoring his first 100 off 115 deliveries before upping the ante in an incredible fashion.
Asked about how high will he rate this knock in comparison to the other two double hundreds (209 vs Australia and 264 vs Sri Lanka), the Mumbaikar had this to say: "I think it so difficult to pick one out of the three. All three have come at crucial times of the game, different scenarios of the game. Against Australia it was a series decider, 264 which I got against Sri Lanka came after a three month injury lay off. I had a finger injury and I was nervous whether I would be able score runs or not; all those things were going in my head and this one also, after losing the first game we wanted to come back as batting unit really hard," he added.
Talking about his opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan that yielded 115 runs in 21.1 overs, he said that the key was to play out the initial overs. "It is something we spoke about as a batting unit at the start of this series. Shot selection will be important and we knew that the conditions were a little challenging at the start of the inning," said Sharma. "Shikhar (Dhawan) and me knew that once we play out the initial overs, the batting will only get easier. I went through my routine actually I would say and the partnership which was always important.
"Me and Shikhar kept rotating the strike which was very important. We never allowed the bowler to bowl six balls at one batsman. We always wanted to change and the left-right combination always helps. Thanks to our trainer Basu. He has been working really hard with all of us. My strength is time-the-ball. I was just looking to time the ball, get in the line and time. I know I am not like MS Dhoni or Chris Gayle and these kinds of players. I don't have so much power but I rely on timing. Exactly what I did," he said.
ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma scores third ODI double-century
After the match, Sharma was interviewed by Team India head coach Ravi Shastri for bcci.tv and the opener revealed what different did he do this time around after missing out in Dharamsala. "I kept telling myself that unless I make a mistake, I am not getting out," said Sharma about the way he started his knock. "I wanted them to get me out. I didn't want to throw away my wicket. So that was something I kept telling myself and I was quite determined to bat as long as possible. The wicket was superb and the outfield here was so fast. I just kept telling myself to hold the position, hold the shape and hit through the line. That's all I did," added the batsman, who took a while to settle in scoring his first 100 off 115 deliveries before upping the ante in an incredible fashion.
Asked about how high will he rate this knock in comparison to the other two double hundreds (209 vs Australia and 264 vs Sri Lanka), the Mumbaikar had this to say: "I think it so difficult to pick one out of the three. All three have come at crucial times of the game, different scenarios of the game. Against Australia it was a series decider, 264 which I got against Sri Lanka came after a three month injury lay off. I had a finger injury and I was nervous whether I would be able score runs or not; all those things were going in my head and this one also, after losing the first game we wanted to come back as batting unit really hard," he added.
Talking about his opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan that yielded 115 runs in 21.1 overs, he said that the key was to play out the initial overs. "It is something we spoke about as a batting unit at the start of this series. Shot selection will be important and we knew that the conditions were a little challenging at the start of the inning," said Sharma. "Shikhar (Dhawan) and me knew that once we play out the initial overs, the batting will only get easier. I went through my routine actually I would say and the partnership which was always important.
"Me and Shikhar kept rotating the strike which was very important. We never allowed the bowler to bowl six balls at one batsman. We always wanted to change and the left-right combination always helps. Thanks to our trainer Basu. He has been working really hard with all of us. My strength is time-the-ball. I was just looking to time the ball, get in the line and time. I know I am not like MS Dhoni or Chris Gayle and these kinds of players. I don't have so much power but I rely on timing. Exactly what I did," he said.
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