"Fingers crossed, we're moving in the right direction" - Rohit Sharma on Team India's preparation for the T20 World Cup after series win over England
Team India captain Rohit Sharma led the side to a convincing 49-run victory over England in the second T20I at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Saturday, July 9. The Men In Blue continued their impressive winning streak over England in terms of series victories after attaining an unassailable 2-0 lead.
The clinical performance marked Rohit Sharma's 14th consecutive T20I win since being appointed as captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup. The hot streak comes at a good time with India looking to explore their options and prepare for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
India seal the series in Birmingham.
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 https://t.co/mYFEqnqxkI
Claiming that he does not want the team to be carried away with the momentum, Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation:
"Fingers crossed, we're moving in the right direction. The only red flag I see is we shouldn't get carried away by these performances. We need to keep performing this way."
India made easy work of the white-ball giants, England, in their own backyard with back-to-back dominant wins. On both occasions, India were able to put up a competitive total on the board with the help of their aggressive approach. Their brilliant bowling attack then came into play to finish the job.
Claiming that England are a tough opposition regardless of the conditions, Sharma said:
"I think we all know how good they are as a team, wherever they go, not just in England. We were upto the challenge and were clinical in what we wanted to do and were clinical with the bat and the ball. When you win games it's always nice."
Sharma continued:
"You feel confident and there's a lot of confidence amongst the group as well, which is very important. We just want to continue and focus on what lies ahead for us. I really wanted to see how we perform after a win and we really want to keep challenging ourselves as a group."
India will take on England in the final T20I of the three-match series on Sunday, July 10 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
"He didn't panic given the experience he has" - Rohit Sharma on Ravindra Jadeja's match-winning knock
India named four changes for the clash at Edgbaston, with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being one of them. Replacing Axar Patel in the playing XI, the 33-year-old rescued the Men In Blue out of peril.
Coming into bat with the scoreboard reading 89-4, the left-handed batter scored an unbeaten 46 off 39 deliveries, to help India post 170-8 in 20 overs.
Innings Break!
After being put to bat first, #TeamIndia post a total of 170/8 on the board.
@imjadeja top scored with a fine 46* in the innings.
Scorecard - bit.ly/ENGvIND-2NDT20I #ENGvIND https://t.co/TOUuhCQfvk
Praising Jadeja for the nerveless knock under pressure, Sharma said:
"Brilliant knock under pressure. We were 90/5 and we needed that partnership and someone to bat deep. Jadeja with his experience and that hundred he got on this wicket knew what he had to do. He didn't panic given the experience he has. It was good to finish with a score that was par on that pitch and we were clinical with the ball."
The Indian seam attack was once again all over the English batting order. Losing three wickets inside the powerplay, the Jos Buttler-led side were never in the chase and were bowled out for 121.