Rohit Sharma, who scored a swashbuckling century to power India to a 300+ total, has said that considerable improvement is required in the Indian bowling department if the “Men in Blue” were to stage a comeback in the 5-match ODI series against the reigning world champions.
The Indian bowlers messed up an opportunity to kick start the ODI series down under with a victory in Perth as David Bailey and Steven Smith guided the hosts to a 5-wicket win. The opener emphasised the need to pick up wickets in the middle overs to restrict the flow of runs. However, he hailed the Indian batsmen for posting a formidable total on a hard WACA pitch.
The 28-year old said, “There were a lot of positives to be taken from the previous ODI, especially playing in Perth and scoring 309 runs. Losing the game was not such a positive sign but we did pretty much what we could. There were a lot of positives as far as batting was concerned but we need to improve our bowling and get the breakthroughs.”
He was effusive in his praise for the power-packed Australian batting unit which hunted down 309 in a clinical fashion. With the home team staring down the barrel at 21/2, skipper Steve Smith and George Bailey plundered the hapless Indian bowling attack to build a game-changing partnership.
Sharma revealed, “They created a very good partnership and we were not able to get back into the game. They batted really well. If you don't take wickets in the middle, it is always going to be difficult, especially here in Australia.”
Looking ahead to the 2nd match, the elegant right-hander, who plies his trade for Mumbai in the domestic circuit, hoped for a better surface at the Gabba. Rohit enthused, “The conditions will be very similar to what we got at Perth. We will get more extra bounce as I think the Perth pitch was on a slower side. The fast bowlers will get a little more assistance as compared to Perth for a long time.”
Sharma is no stranger to seeing his monumental knocks rendered irrelevant by his bowlers. The prime examples are his 138 at the MCG against the Australians in the 2015 triangular series and his tons in the limited-overs series against South Africa. He will certainly be hoping that the Indian seamers finally come to the party on a bouncy Brisbane wicket and reverse the trend.
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