82 in the second innings of Eden Test my best in Tests: Rohit Sharma
IN THE SECOND INNINGS of the Eden Test, Rohit Sharma showed tremendous resilience and resolve to rise to the occasion and scored a magnificent 82, to eventually lead India to a 178-run victory over the Kiwis. Rohit believes that his perseverance has paid off and that the knock has resulted in a huge confidence booster ahead of the final Test in Indore.
In an interview with bcci.tv, the Nagpur-lad termed the knock at the Eden as his best-ever in Tests.
“Personally, it was a great confidence booster in terms of my own batting. When you play an important innings like that from the team’s perspective, it does boost your confidence. You feel good about it. We won the Test match as well, so it was an icing on the cake. Nothing pleases me more than getting a victory for the team. I feel it is my best knock in Test cricket so far and I am saying this only because it was in a winning cause. When you win games like those your confidence goes higher. I am feeling confident about the next Test match too.”
Lately, Rohit has been facing a lot of flak for failing to add big runs to the board. His last century had come against West Indies in Mumbai in 2013. Also, Rohit’s inclusion in the playing XI against the Kiwis was debatable.
However, the swashbuckler believes that he had never lost his form.
“Honestly, I never felt I was out of form. I felt I was batting well throughout and it was just a matter of converting those starts into big scores, which wasn’t happening. I was a little disappointed with that. I knew that somewhere down the line if I keep my focus and concentrate more on the process, it would yield me results. You do want to score big ones all the time. Me being a stroke maker, I like to play my shots and get on top of the bowler at all times. I know I might get out, but I have to back my game. That is how you can get success and people around the world have got success. I believe in my game-plan and I have to stick to it.”
The 29-year-old credited batting coach Sanjay Bangar and training assistant Raghavindraa for keeping him on top of his game all the time.
“I am looking forward to the 3rd Test. I don’t want to change much in terms of preparations. I carry good momentum with me going into the final Test. I want to keep hitting the ball, get my hands and feet moving, which are very important. I had a good hit at the nets today and I am looking forward to doing the same tomorrow as well. I have to give a lot of credit to our batting coach Sanjay Bangar and training assistant Raghavindraa who have been working tirelessly with all the batsmen to keep them on top of their game all the time. The reason you see all batsmen standing up to the task is because of the entire support staff who have been very supportive throughout. It is a Test debut for Indore and it will be an exciting one. We are looking forward to making it 3-0.”
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