T20 World Cup: 'We Haven’t Nailed Batting Line-up Yet', Says Rohit After Win Over Bangladesh
Regular opener Yashasvi Jaiswal did not come out to start the innings with the skipper as wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson joined Rohit in the middle. Samson (1) had a dismal outing as he departed in the second over of the innings. Rishabh Pant came out to bat at no.3 as Virat Kohli did not come to bat.
Making his comeback in national colours after more than 14 months, Pant made the most of the opportunity and slammed 53 off 32 balls studded with four sixes and as many fours before retiring out. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya also played quickfire knocks of 31 off 18 balls and 40* off 23 balls, respectively, to guide the side to 182/5 in 20 overs.
"Quite happy with how things went, got what we wanted with the game. Important to get used to conditions. New venue, new ground and drop-in pitch. (On Pant batting at 3) Just to give him an opportunity. We haven’t nailed the batting line-up yet, we wanted most guys to get a hit in the middle," said Rohit, who contributed 23 off 19 balls.
In the bowling department, pacer Arshdeep Singh picked two early wickets to put the opponents on the back foot in the match. He returned with the figures of 2-12 in his three overs while Shivam Dube also scalped two wickets in his three-over spell to restrict Bangladesh to 122/9 in 20 overs.
Rohit lauded pacer Arshdeep's effort and backed his squad for the tournament. "He has shown us he has the skills upfront and also the backend, he has a very good skill set. We’ve got good 15 players here, just need to nail down the conditions and pick the best players," said Rohit.
India will start their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5.