India captain Rohit Sharma revealed how he marshalled his troops in the Kanpur Test match against Bangladesh. Speaking via a Board of Control for Cricket in India video on Wednesday, October 2, Sharma said that India’s aggressive approach in Test cricket was a combined result of their bowling, batting and field positions.
India beat Bangladesh in the Kanpur Test match by 7 wickets despite rain washing away more than two and a half days of play. On Day 4 of the Test match, when everyone thought that the game will meander towards a draw, India came out all guns blazing. Not only did the Indian team bowl out Bangladesh quickly, they also scored rapidly at a run-rate of 8+ and dismantled the Bangladesh side.
“Aggression is all about your actions, not about my reactions. The kind of batting we do, the kind of field positioning we have, the kind of bowling we do, that to me is aggression,” Rohit Sharma said in a BCCI video.
IND vs BAN, Kanpur Test: Match Report
“When we lost two and a half days it was very easy for us to just drift away from the goal we have, which was to win the Test match. We needed 7 wickets quickly on that day, and that is when it started,” he further added.
Sharma lauded the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin for setting the tone on Day 4 of the Test match.
“The bowlers came to the party first. They got the wickets that we needed. And then when we came inside, we had to take a little bit of risk to get a result. I know the result could have gone either way. But I was okay with it. So was the coach and the other players as well. Because you have to be brave enough to take those decisions and go and play that way,” Rohit said in the video.
“When things fall in place, everything looks good. And that is where it can change quickly when things don’t fall in place. Everybody would have started criticising the decision that we took and all of that. But what matters is what we think inside this changing room. And that is what mattered and that is what we went with in this game. It was a clear plan that we want the result, how we can get the result. Everybody started finding answers for that. I think it was an exceptional series,” he further added.
ROHIT’S BRAND OF CAPTAINCY
Speaking about his brand of captaincy, Rohit said that a captain needs to be adaptable and prepare every approach. Sharma said that it was important to recognise that not every decision was going to go his way but he needed to back his calls and trust on it.
“I think when you are playing at such a high level, you need to have a bit of everything. You need to be calm, to think wisely. There are a lot of decisions that you have to take on the field. Not every decision will go your way, but you have to back it and use your experience, use your knowledge. So that is what I do. I have been there enough to trust my judgement that I do take on the field, the decisions that I take on the field. I trust on it and then I go by it. Obviously there are players around me who are open to giving suggestions, but at the end of the day, I think I trust my mind and I trust my judgement. And that’s all that matters,” Rohit said about his captaincy.
Sharma concluded the video by praising India’s fielding effort in the Test match, where he thought that the team made incredible progress and which was the main difference-maker in the game.
“It may go unnoticed, but I was just informed that out of the 24 catches that came our way, we took 23 of them, which is a great result. Especially in the slips, you don’t often see in India a ball carrying through the slips. But the guys who were standing behind were so sharp and to take those catches, it may look easy on television, but it is not. Trust me, because they are standing way ahead than they normally do. So all those catches that come their way, they are very hard to take. The reaction time is very less. And I have seen it, they put a lot of effort in getting those things right. And Dilip obviously is helping with the players. Some crucial catches as well, which actually turned the game around,” Rohit concluded.
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