Pragyan Ojha has showered rich praise on Rohit Sharma’s leadership skills in the second India-West Indies ODI on Wednesday. The former spinner Pragyan Ojha was pleased with the skipper’s “old-school” attacking methods.
He was also impressed by the skipper’s support for the underperformers and the optimal use of his best bowlers of the day. India defended a sub-par score of 237 by a 44-run margin to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Rohit Sharma, captaining in just his second ODI since taking the job full-time, was the life of resistance. His field placements were spot-on and he made some unpredictable but logical bowling changes.
Pragyan Ojha: Rohit Sharma Planned Really Well And Tried To Outsmart The Opponents
Speaking on the show ‘Cricbuzz Chatter’ after the match, Pragyan Ojha admitted Rohit Sharma was a bit lucky that all his plans worked well. But he praised him for making the plans in the first place and sticking with them.
Pragyan Ojha said: “See, every captain does the planning part but there’s also a luck factor involved – whichever bowler he asked to bowl, did well and got him wickets. But I don’t want to take away anything from him. He planned really well and everything just strung together nicely for him.”
Pragyan Ojha added: “You need to challenge the batsmen sometimes. The way he did that with [Odean] Smith by bringing in Chahal and asking him to bowl slowly outside off-stump. It’s nice to see a captain encouraging his bowlers to play old-school cricket.”
Pragyan Ojha also talked about the captain’s bowling changes in the match.
Pragyan Ojha said: “Nowadays, if a batsman starts hitting, the captain removes the bowler from the attack, thinking he’ll get hit for runs. But he (Rohit) tries to outsmart the opponents.”
Pragyan Ojha added: “The way he used Shardul. He knew he wasn’t in the best rhythm so bowled him accordingly and gave him a breather too. These small things matter a lot to bowlers and their confidence. The same Chahal was looking muddled a few years ago but now the clarity in his thoughts is tangible.”
Rohit Sharma’s use of Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar was particularly impressive. The young fast-bowler got his first spell after the eighth over. He picked up two wickets in seven balls and after that was used in short aggressive spells, which yielded two more scalps. Washington Sundar was costly early on but then got called up in the 45th over. He replied by removing West Indies’ final hope -Odean Smith for 24 (20).
Ajay Jadeja: Rohit Sharma Used Same Data In A Different Way
Former India batter Ajay Jadeja, speaking in the same interaction also lauded Rohit Sharma for using data without being too predictable.
He explained: “Recently, there was a phase where teams became so reliant on data that which bowler will bowl when was all pre-decided… Earlier, when India used to bowl in the 50 overs, even you (the general audience) could tell that these bowlers will bowl the first 5-7 overs, these will do the last 10 and there will be ‘Kul-cha’ or someone else in the middle.”
He added: “But in the last two matches, I was surprised by some moves and I may not agree with it but he started with Shardul , then brought Prasidh – since he’s become captain, he’s using the same data in a different way.”
Ajay Jadeja also talked about the 34-year-old’s combination of the two buzzwords, intent and process, and how he’s moulded them into his natural style.
He said: “The game has evolved but it’s all the same things whether you call it intent or process. These are buzzwords. Today as the captain Rohit Sharma showed intent but it was attacking intent.
“The process couldn’t be pre-decided. He’s decided the intent but he’s building the process himself. He’s playing differently in every match and the opposition will now have to find a antidote to this.”
For the record, India won the contest by 44 runs, thanks to an inspired spell of 4/12 in nine overs from the tall Prasidh Krishna. Pacers Mohammed Siraj (1/38), Shardul Thakur (2/41), and spinners Yuzvendra Chahal(1/45), Washington Sundar (1/28) and Deepak Hooda (1/24) perfectly aided Prasidh Krishna.
Rohit Sharma-led India will now play a dead rubber third ODI on Friday, February 11. The result meant that India pocketed another bilateral series win at home and another one against West Indies (their 11th in succession), against whom they have not lost a series since 2006.