“You need guys to stabilise innings like Virat”: Indian skipper Rohit after series win over West Indies

Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], July 25 (ANI): Following his side’s Test series win over West Indies, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma lauded Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli for their contrasting, but yet fantastic performances with the bat in the match.

The rain did not allow any play on the final day of the second Test between India and West Indies being held in Port of Spain on Tuesday, ending the match in a draw. With this, India has clinched the two-match Test series 1-0.

“You need guys like Ishan (Kishan). We wanted quick runs, we promoted him, he was not afraid. He was the first one to put his hand up. In Test matches, you need guys who stabilise the innings like what Virat (Kohli) did, he played superbly. You need a mixture of everything. We have depth, we have got variety. We are in the right place. It is about getting the job done. I always believe in getting better as a team. I said after the World Test Championship final as well,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.

Rohit expressed how unfortunate it was that the teams did not get to play as the rain had the final say.

“Every win is different. Playing in WI has its own challenge. Happy with the way things went. We gave it a good shot, unfortunately, we could not get any play today. We actually went out with a positive intent yesterday. The rain had its final say. We were quite confident. You know how difficult it is batting last. We always wanted that kind of score where we wanted the opposition to go for it. There was not much on the surface. No play today, unfortunate for us,” he said.

Talking about ‘Player of the Match’ Mohammed Siraj, Rohit said that he has “taken such a giant step” and led the attack well.

“I do not want anyone to lead the attack. I want everyone to lead when they are having the ball in their hand. You want the entire pace battery to take responsibility,” he added.

Rohit said that his team has played consistent cricket. “That is what we are looking at. We want to focus on all three aspects of the game. We need to be a good fielding unit. Bowlers – how they respond under pressure. What sort of mindset do batters go in with under challenging conditions? That is what I am looking forward to,” he added.

India had set a massive total of 365 runs for West Indies to win the match and Windies lost two wickets in the final session of day four in Port of Spain on Monday.

At the end of the day four’s play, WI was at 76/2, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul (24) and Jermaine Blackwood (20).

WI had got off to a decent start, but then Ravichandran Ashwin (2/33) removed Kraigg Braithwaite (28) and Kirk McKenzie (0) to reduce WI to 44/2.

Earlier, India had declared their second innings at 181/2, with Ishan Kishan (52* in 34 balls) and Shubman Gill (29*) unbeaten. With a lead of 364 runs, they set a target of 365 runs for the Windies.

Shannon Gabriel and Jomel Warrican took a wicket each for the Windies.

Rohit Sharma (57 in 44 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 in 30 balls) also played some quick knocks for India. India had crossed the 100-run mark in just 12.2 overs, the fastest by any team in Test cricket’s history.

Before this, in reply to India’s first innings total of 438, WI was bundled out for just 255 runs. WI trailed by 183 runs at that point.

Skipper Kraigg Braithwaite top-scored for the Windies with a knock of 75 in 235 balls. Alick Athanaze (37), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (33) and Kirk McKenzie (32) also played some decent knocks for the Windies.

Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 5/60. Mukesh Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin got one wicket.

India made 438 in the first innings. Virat’s century (121 in 206 balls) and fifties by skipper Rohit Sharma (80 in 143 balls), Yashasvi Jaiswal (57 in 74 balls), Ravindra Jadeja (61 in 152 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (56 in 78 balls) proved to be instrumental in taking India to a massive total.

Jomel Warrican (3/89) was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies. Kemar Roach (3/104) and Jason Holder (2/57) also were among the wickets for the Windies.