India’s stand-in captain Rohit Sharma said at the post-match media interaction that his team, who were shot out for 92 in the previous match in Hamilton, wanted to test themselves in pace-friendly conditions once again.
“I had a look (of the pitch) before the toss and knew that there was moisture, which would be helpful for the fast bowlers initially. As a team we wanted to see how we face the challenges because come the World Cup we will be put into those situations, so what then? Yes, we lost four wickets upfront, there is a learning there for us as how we should bat when the ball is swinging and conditions are not easy. The guys now know come the situation how to do it. The run rate was not great in first 30 overs but we still managed to get to 250, which is a big positive” he said.
“Coming here and beating New Zealand 4-1 is a massive achievement. They play very good cricket, so it is a great take away for us. Last time we were thrashed 4-0. We didn’t have a point to prove but we just wanted to play good cricket, which we have been doing for the past 8-10 months now. New Zealand have got great balance. They bat deep and have a quality bowling line-up, we saw a bit of glimpse of that in last game where they challenged us, so for us 4-1 is a great achievement.”
“It would be a massive confidence boost for him (Rayudu) to bat in that situation. At 18 for 4, you need to bail the team out. He has been around for many years and he used his experience well. He is looking very good and I just want him to continue. We have five more games against Australia back home, so if he bats the way he batted, it would be good for us. I won’t be able to comment who would bat at No. 4 in the World Cup but talking about the series, he can take a lot of confidence from the series, he finished off games for us. Vijay batted brilliantly and I’m disappointed that he got out unfortunately (run out), he should have got a 50 or even a 100 may be.”
