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'Rohit Sharma decided, today I will toy with Sri Lanka': Pragyan Ojha hails India skipper's 'off-beat' captaincy
India captain Rohit Sharma garnered praise for giving all-rounders like Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer a chance with the ball in the first T20I against Sri Lanka.
As many as seven players took the ball for India in their first T20I against Sri Lanka with captain Rohit Sharma choosing to give all-rounders Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer overs. Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha said it was nice to see Rohit keeping Sri Lanka on their toes while giving the all-rounders to gain some confidence.
Both Venkatesh and Hooda bowled three overs each, with the former taking two wickets. Frontline fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel all had at least an over remaining in their spells by the end of the match, as did spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. In fact, it was only spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who bowled his full quota of four overs.
“Rohit Sharma didn't really show the teeth that are normally used to bite and he decided that 'Today I will toy with Sri Lanka'. He was so off beat, he was using even his fourth, fifth and sixth choice bowlers so that they gain some confidence and that was great to see,” Ojha said on Cricbuzz.
“He knows what to expect from someone like Bumrah or Bhuvneshwar. So here, he gave Hooda some match practice, thinking that this is the chance to keep them prepared for any situation in which they might have to be used later on,” he said.
India cruised to a 62-run win in the first T20I and will be looking to seal another series win at home in the second T20I that will be played on Saturday in Dharamsala.
