The Indian captain Rohit Sharma was once again left frustrated with the fact that the Indian middle order couldn’t get the job done after the top order failed while chasing a relatively smaller target in the context of the 50-over game.
The Indian team was chasing a target of 247 against England yesterday and as it has happened in some important games in the past, India lost top-order wickets quickly. But, after the fall of top-order wickets, the Indian middle order wasn’t able to shift the pressure back onto the opposition.
Speaking about India’s batting performance in the post-match press conference, Rohit said that it happened in the ODI World Cup 2019 semifinal as well, where India was chasing a target in the range of 240 and a few wickets fell early. The scenario in the second ODI against England was somewhat similar again.
According to Rohit, what India needs to do differently when early wickets fall is to take the game on and try and put the pressure back onto the bowlers by playing attacking cricket.
I have spoken to the players about such situations: Rohit Sharma
The Indian captain said that he has spoken to his players about such situations because India has been at the receiving end of such situations quite a few times in recent years and he believes India now has to adopt a different approach to counter pressure situations.
Rohit Sharma believes when the target is a modest target, that is below 250, and the middle order batsmen shift the pressure back onto the bowlers straightaway after the fall of a wicket or a couple of wickets, it changes the momentum and since the target is small, once you have momentum back in your favor, you can run away with the game.
India now has to play the ODI series decider against England on Sunday. If they win that, it will be their first ODI series win in England after 2014.
