Team India skipper Rohit Sharma was overjoyed after his side defeated Australia by six wickets in the 2nd T20I in Nagpur on Friday (September 23) to level the three-match series 1-1.
Rohit ran towards Dinesh Karthik, hugged and patted him on the head, after the latter smacked a six and four to take the Men in Blue past the winning line.
The Indian captain led from the front in the chase of 91 in a shortened game that was reduced to eight overs per side. Rohit was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 46 off only 20 balls.
After DK hit the winning runs, the Hitman was understandably pleased as he was under pressure following the team’s recent losses in the T20I format. The official social media handles of BCCI shared a video of Rohit celebrating with DK after India’s series-leveling win. The clip was shared with the caption:
“Captain @ImRo45’s reaction. Crowd’s joy. @DineshKarthik’s grin. Relive the mood as #TeamIndia sealed a series-levelling win in Nagpur #INDvAUS.”
Bowling first after winning the toss, India conceded 90 for 5 in their eight overs as Matthew Wade clobbered an unbeaten 43 in 20 balls.
For the hosts, left-arm spinner Axar Patel stood out with figures of 2 for 13. Pacer Harshal Patel, however, once again proved expensive, going for 32 runs in his two overs.
“I’m glad that it came off” – Rohit Sharma on his match-winning knock
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the Indian captain admitted that he was a bit surprised with how well the ball was coming onto the bat. Sharing his thoughts on his match-defining knock, he said:
“It’s great to be hitting like that, but it was an 8-over game, so you have to take your chances. I’m glad that it came off. Honestly, for the last 8-9 months I’ve been playing like that.
“For me, it didn’t really change much but again, when you’re playing a game like this, you can’t plan too much. You’ve just got to understand the situation and try and use the conditions to your advantage,” he added.
Reflecting on Team India’s bowling performance, he stated that they were good for the most part, until dew came in at the end. Rohit commented:
“I felt that the bowlers had something on offer and we used the conditions pretty well but at the backend, the dew started to come in and the guys were not able to grip the ball, which is why you saw some odd full tosses from Harshal.”
The deciding T20I of the India-Australia series will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.
