Batting First in Two Games Was a Good Challenge for India: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma batted at number 4 in the final T20I against India at Eden Gardens.

After an impressive 3-0 clean sweep over West Indies in the T20Is, India skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday said that he is very happy with the result and it was pleasing to see new guys bailing the team out of tough situations in the absence of regular players.

A classy fifty from Suryakumar Yadav (65 off 31) and an aggressive knock by Venkatesh Iyer (35 off 19) followed by a clinical bowling effort helped India beat West Indies by 17 runs in the 3rd T20I and complete a 3-0 clean sweep of the three-match series, at the Eden Gardens.

"Happy with the series. Pretty much got everything that we wanted. We do understand we are very young as a team. We are still a good chasing side, but a lot of the players are missing. So we wanted the guys to understand how to bat in pressure situations. It was pleasing to see guys bailing the team out from tough situations. Good sign moving forward as a group and something to be proud of," said Sharma in the post-match presentation.

The skipper also praised the bowlers for their impressive performances in both ODI and T20I series.

"I was very impressed with our seam bowling in ODIs. And even here. Harshal is new. Avesh is on debut. Shardul is in and out. So the challenge for us was to give them game time and see how they respond. When you play against a team like the West Indies, you can test your batting and bowling. They bat very deep. It was a good challenge to defend in both games," he said.

Sharma also highlighted the importance of work-load management, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup in Australia.

"A few guys miss out on the Sri Lanka series because we want to keep them fresh. But we have the World Cup in mind and we are trying to give game time for individuals. Sri Lanka will be a different challenge. But I am not someone who looks at the opposition, I would like to see what we can do as a team," he said.

Talking about the few areas of improvement, Sharma said, "Ground fielding, catching is something we can correct. Hopefully, we can tick that box as well."

(With IANS Inputs)