In the second ODI against New Zealand, India skipper Rohit Sharma chastised Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj for their refusal to step away and allow other bowlers to bowl, On Saturday, the Indian Pacers thrashed Sri Lanka by 108 runs in the second One-Day International.
Mohammed Shami was the bowler’s favorite, taking three wickets in 18 overs, and Mohammed Siraj’s new ball performed admirably, bowling in six overs. There were only ten wickets taken. The pair had hoped to continue testing the New Zealand batsmen in bowling-friendly conditions, but were pushed back by skipper Rohit Sharma.
Shami and Siraj were claimed to be eager to continue their exploits in the middle after seeing how well the Pacers were doing, but Rohit stepped in and chose to give the ball to the other bowlers. At the post-match awards presentation, Rohit revealed that he had to step in because Siraj and Shami refused to back down.
Rohit said “They (Shami and Siraj) were raring to keep bowling long spells but I reminded them that there is a Test series coming up as well (Australia at home), so we need to take care of ourselves as well. I need to step in and draw the line and say ‘boss, there are other bowlers as well”
The Indian captain lauded the Indian bowlers’ effort in the game. saying “I thought these last five games, the bowlers have really stepped up. Whatever we have asked of them, they have delivered. Especially doing this in India. You can expect these performances away from India, but they have real skills. When we trained here yesterday in the night, it moved around, there was good carry. Which is why we wanted that challenge: 250 would have been quite challenging.”
“We trained yesterday and the ball was nipping around under lights. We knew that if they had 250 or so, it might have been challenging for us but that was the point of opting to chase. We batted first last game, so the idea was to challenge ourselves. Not sure what I’ll do at Indore (in the final game). The confidence is high within the group and that’s great to see.”
With the victory in the second One-Day International, India has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“I can’t stop and remove the bails in my run up” – Arjun Tendulkar
