"We understand each other well, except for the first ball" - Rohit Sharma on his partnership with Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan shared a match-winning stand after an exceptional display by fast bowlers as India thrashed England by 10 wickets in the first ODI at the Oval on Tuesday.
Opting to bowl first, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami ran riot to dismiss the hosts for a paltry 110 runs. Rohit (76*) and Dhawan (31*) took the tourists home convincingly with 31.2 overs to spare.
Speaking on his partnership with Dhawan at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit said:
"We have played a lot of cricket together. We understand each other well, except for the first ball. We played together after a while, so the calling was a bit rusty first up. We know what he brings for us. He's a very experienced player."
Bowlers delivered, batters completed the job ✅
A comfortable 10-wicket win for India in the first ODI against England 💥🇮🇳
#IndianCricketTeam #SriLanka #INDvENG #CricketTwitter https://t.co/WmMLWIjLqY
Incidentally, Dhawan almost fell short of his crease in the first delivery of the run chase after a miscommunication with Rohit. The southpaw was well short of his crease, but Jonny Bairstow failed to ace the throw.
Since then, it was all about the Indian openers. They paced their innings to perfection to chase down the target and take the team 1-0 up in the series.
"We know the quality of the bowlers" - Rohit Sharma hails Indian pacers
"Alexa, please play Jasprit Bumrah"
"Sorry, Jasprit Bumrah is unplayable"
#ENGvIND https://t.co/HN7G9scrgx
While it was Rohit and Dhawan with the bat, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami starred with the ball. They wreaked havoc with the ball after the Indian captain opted to field first.
Bumrah eventually returned with career-best figures of 6/19, while Shami chipped in with 3/31. Prasidh Krishna picked up the wicket of Moeen Ali.
Rohit Sharma lauded the efforts of the fast bowlers and said that they back them all the time. He added:
"We never really worry about the overhead conditions. We saw during the T20Is as well. When there's something on offer, we came out and did the job. Today was more suitable for the fast bowlers.
"When you play in conditions like that, you need to understand what kind of assistance bowlers are going to get and get your fields right in those situations. We know the quality of the bowlers and have to back them all the time."
India and England will lock horns in the second game of the series on Thursday at Lord's in London.