Sunil Gavaskar rates Rohit Sharma's captaincy "on a scale of 10" after 1st India vs West Indies ODI
Sunil Gavaskar has given a near-perfect 9.99 rating out of 10 to Rohit Sharma's captaincy in India's first ODI against West Indies on Sunday.
India won the match by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-ODI series. Rohit Sharma, playing his first match since taking over the white-ball leadership full-time, top-scored with a 51-ball 60. India chased down the paltry 179-run target with 22 overs to spare.
Speaking to Star Sports after the match, Gavaskar remarked that Rohit Sharma contributed to the win in every possible way, starting with winning the toss, taking good on-field decisions, and then scoring a half-century.
The former Indian captain explained:
"This is the kind of perfect start he wanted. Even before that he tossed the coin in such a way that Pollard called it wrong. So you got to remember that right from the beginning he got it right. Therefore with a win like this it is always a good start and he contributed to the win in terms of scoring with what is your specialty, that is batting. You have done that and of course been able to make the bowling changes, the field placing. You get just about everything right. So I think if you ask me on a scale of 10, I will give him 9.99."
Most of Rohit Sharma's decisions were spot on in Ahmedabad. Mohammed Siraj was given the new ball and he picked up a wicket in the powerplay. Washington Sundar was brought in as the first change and he reposed the faith with two wickets in one over.
While Yuzvendra Chahal looked to be in the best touch in months, Prasidh Krishna also reveled in the role of a strike bowler. The skipper also contributed with three correct uses of the DRS.
"We want to keep getting better" - Rohit Sharma
While this could be the perfect start to India's pre-World Cup cycle, the new skipper is making sure to not get carried away.
In the post-match presentation, he spoke about how they ticked all the boxes but still need to continue "getting better as a team".
The 34-year-old remarked:
βI donβt really believe in a perfect game. We want to keep getting better as a team. We spoke of what we wanted to achieve and we ticked all the boxes."
The second ODI will begin at 1:30 pm IST at the same venue on Wednesday.