Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar praised Indian captain Rohit Sharma for his brilliant captaincy skills and match-winning innings against Afghanistan in the third and final Twenty20 in Bengaluru. The 36-year-old scored his fifth T20 hundred, helping the Men In Blue win the series 3-0 at home.
Rohit Sharma made a brilliant comeback in T20 cricket by scoring a captain’s knock in the third game against Afghanistan. Indian captain along with finisher Rinku Singh, rescued India from a batting collapse before leading the hosts to a thrilling double Super Over victory.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sunil Gavaskar believes that T20 Cricket is a format in which leadership skills are truly tested, and he praised Rohit Sharma for his outstanding captaincy in the shorter format of the game. The cricketer-turned-commentator praised the Indian skipper for going bang to bang from the start of the innings, despite the team’s struggles in the powerplay against Afghanistan.
“This is the format where your captaincy skills are really tested. If he has a higher winning percentage than MS and Virat, that tells you what a good captain he is. What I really liked about this innings is that, generally you say in a T20I game now – the template is to go bang bang bang from the word go.
“And that is the template that is set. But both Rohit and Rinku used their cricketing intelligence at 22-4 and said no. We can get runs later on but let’s just give ourselves a little bit of time,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
The 36-year-old was the standout player in the third Twenty20 International against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma not only produced a century in the first innings but also guided India to a hard-fought triumph in the Super Overs. It was Rohit’s much-needed comeback in T20 cricket after a string of disappointing performances in the shorter format of the game.
We Have The Ability To Make Up For It As The Innings Progresses – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar believes that India could have been in a bad situation if Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh had been dismissed against Afghanistan in the third T20 game, and praised them for taking on the bowlers in the final five overs after being set in the first ten overs. The former Indian opener believes that it is critical to adapt and respond to game situations.
“If we lose a wicket or two here, we’ll be 70 all out. We’re 90 all out. So let’s give ourselves a little bit of time, we have the ability to make up for it as the innings progresses. And they did the last five overs – 100. But this is a one-off”.
“Normally, you want your teams to play in a different template. But to have that cricketing intelligence and the skillset to adapt and adjust and change your game, to what needs to be done, that is key,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
Despite the challenging conditions and the loss of a couple of early wickets in Bangalore, the Indian captain managed to get back in the game under pressure in difficult situations. He hit a spectacular century and made critical contributions in both Super Overs to help the Men in Blue win the series 3-0.