New Delhi: Indian team captain Rohit Sharma defends his decision of five changes in the side in their match against Bangladesh.
India was enjoying an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup 2023 after defeating Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, their unbeaten run came to an end after losing out to Bangladesh in a dead rubber Super 4 clash by 6 runs.
#TeamIndia put up a solid fight as the things went right down to the wire but it was Bangladesh who won the match.
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/OHhiRDZM6W#AsiaCup2023 | #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/qy6Z4fbmiC
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 15, 2023
Rohit clarifies his decision on the changes in the post-match ceremony by saying, “We wanted to give some game time to the guys, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Not compromising on how we wanted to play this game. Get in some players who are likely to play the World Cup.”
Notably, India rested their veteran players like Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Md. Siraj is in Friday’s match.
Andhra Pradesh-based Tilka Varma was also given his maiden ODI cap for the match.
Despite India falling six short of the target, opener Shubman Gill’s under-pressure innings in getting praise from all around. Rohit Sharma also adored his opening partner’s innings and heaps praise on him during the post-match conference.
“Gill’s hundred was brilliant. He backs his game, he knows exactly how he wants to play. Pretty clear on what he wants to do for the team. Look at his form over the last year. Pretty solid against the new ball. Works really hard, there’s no optional practice for Gill.” Rohit added.
Earlier, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Bangladesh, after being put into early troubles and reduced to 59 for 4, made a miraculous comeback to post 265 for 8 on the board with the help of skipper Shakib Al Hasan (80), Towid Hridoy (54) and Nsaum Ahmed’s (44) brilliant innings.
Shardul Thakur was India’s star with the ball, with 3 wickets under his name.
In reply, despite the brilliant efforts of Shubman Gill (121) and Axar Patel (42), India still fell short by six runs against the Bangladeshi side.
Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman was their star with the ball after scalping 3 crucial wickets of India.
Notably, if India had managed to defeat Bangladesh on Friday, they would have become the top-ranked team in all three formats.
