‘hats off’ to sundar: rohit

India skipper Rohit Sharma heaped praises on teenaged off-spinner Washington Sundar for starring with the ball during the 17-run win over Bangladesh at the R.Premadasa Stadium here on Wednesday.

The off-spinner returned 3/22 to break the backbone of the Bangladeshi line-up helping India defend 176/3 and qualify for the final of the Nidahas T20 tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka.

"Washington's spell up front was magical. It's not easy for a spinner to bowl with the new ball, so hats off to him," Rohit, who was adjudged the man of the match for his blistering 61-ball 89, said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"Washington has been courageous to take the ball from me, not afraid to flight the ball, and he's very clear on what he wants to execute. That allows me to breathe easy.

"When a bowler knows what field to set, that talks a lot about that individual. He bowled well against Sri Lanka as well. The rest of the bowlers executed their plans perfectly too at the back end," he added.

Commenting on his own innings, which was long due, considering his slump in Sri Lanka, Rohit said: "The pitch wasn't the usual wicket, and the ball was gripping. It wasn't easy to hit on the up as well, so I decided to take some time getting set."

"I knew the new batsmen would find it tough. (Suresh) Raina's been in terrific form too, so hope he does well in the final too," he added.

‘Fortunate to have skills’

Washington Sundar has been phenomenal in the powerplay during the ongoing Nidahas Trophy Tri-series and the young-off spinner said he is fortunate to have the skill set to bowl during this crucial period of the game.

The 18-year-old lanky spinner has come of age in this tournament and is the most penetrative bowler on display with seven wickets to his kitty, including three against Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Besides, Sundar is the most economical bowler in the tournament with an impressive economy rate of 5.87 runs an over, surprisingly 11 of his 16 overs have been bowled in the powerplay.

While Sundar admitted that it is a challenge for a spinner to bowl in the powerplay, but the key to success is to face those challenges and overcome them.

"It is definitely a challenging thing but that is what you play cricket for. When you get an opportunity to represent your country you need to face those challenges. When you win those challenges you get a lot of satisfaction," he said.

"I have to admit that I am very fortunate I have got this skill. It's more of reading the batsman's mind, especially in the powerplays because every six balls, they will be looking to hit you out. So it's important to read the mind.

"I myself being a batsman to an extent I can at least suspect what he is thinking or where he is going to hit me," Sundar said at the post-match press conference on Wednesday after India beat Bangladesh by 17 runs to seal their place in Sunday's final.

Asked about the mantra behind his success while bowling in the powerplay periods, Sundar said: "I play a lot of league games back home. Couple of years back, we played a tournament. I used to bowl two in the powerplay and two in the death overs which was difficult. These things helped me to get better as a cricketer."

Sundar accounted for the wickets of Tamim Iqbal (27), Liton Das (7) and Soumya Sarkar (1) to wreck Bangladesh's top order on Wednesday. Besides, Yuzvendra Chahal also shone bright with the ball with figures of 4-0-21-1 as the two Indian spinners made merry.

"It's a very good feeling when you bowl under 6 everyday," Sundar said.

"It was very important for me and Chahal to bowl well. Our 8 overs were very important. Mine and Chahal's four overs were very crucial and both us bowled well.

"It is not an easy wicket to defend any kind of totals. You saw them (Bangladesh) chasing down 215 odd runs. So we had our plans," he added.

World cricket might be moving fast towards wristspinners, especially in white-ball cricket, but Sundar feels off-spinners have always been effective in all forms of the game.

"If you see over the years off-spinners have always been effective in all formats. It's an important skill, as good as wrist spin. It's all about reading the wicket, having good skills, it's all about improving everyday. It's important to keep working hard no matter what skill you have," he said.

Sundar feels India will win the Nidahas Trophy if they play to their potential on Sunday.

"If we could play to our potential, if we could play to our strength, if we could have another good day definitely we will win the tournament," he signed off.