IND vs AUS: 'Good to see Bumrah back,' says Rohit after India's 6-wicket win in 2nd T20I

Update: 2022-09-24 00:58 IST

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma said it was good to see Jasprit Bumrah back after India defeated Australia by six wickets in the second T20I on Friday.

It was a rain-hit game in Nagpur that was reduced to eight overs per side. Batting first Australia posted 90 for 5, thanks to Matthew Wade's 20-ball 43. Bumrah took the crucial wicket of Aaron Finch, who had struck four fours and a six. The Indian pacer finished with figures of 1 for 23 in his quota of two overs.

In reply to that, Rohit Sharma led from the front as he remained unbeaten on 46 off 20 balls. The eventual Player of the Match struck four sixes and as many fours as he scored the runs at an incredible strike rate of 230.

In the post-match presentation, Rohit said that even he was "quite surprised" with his knock on Friday.

"I was quite surprised as well. I didn't expect it to go quite as well as that. For the last 8-9 months I have been playing like that so it didn't change much. But when you are playing a game like that you can't plan too much. You just have to play the situation and use conditions to your advantage," added Rohit after India levelled the series 1-1.

"I felt when we were bowling the bowlers had something to bowl to. We used the conditions pretty well. But then at the back end dew started coming in. That is where we want guys to learn how tough it is. It was good to see Bumrah in the park. Slowly and steadily he is coming back into his rhythm. As a team we are not going to analyse it too much. Axar has fitted in the role well. He can bowl in any phase of the game. He brings a lot to the game," added Rohit.

The Indian skipper also revealed that when Hardik Pandya was dismissed there were discussions on whether Dinesh Karthik should be sent next or Rishabh Pant.

"Axar gives me an advantage of using the other bowlers in different situations too - maybe use the pacers in the middle overs if he bowls in the powerplay. I would like to see his batting as well. Glad DK could finish well. Been a while since he had some time in the middle. There was this thought if we should get Rishabh in but I thought Sams is going to bowl off-cutters, so I thought let DK come in and he is playing that role anyway for us," Rohit said further.

India vs Australia: 'Need to take the momentum forward,' says Dinesh Karthik

When Sams came in to bowl the final over, India needed nine runs to win. Karthik sealed the game for the hosts with a six and a four.

"There was not too much talk. Rohit was trying to tell me this is what the bowler would do, I had my plans. As a middle order batter it is about execution. It feels good to hit the winning runs. Ro with the bat and Axar with the ball stood out, good to see Bumrah back. We need to take the momentum forward. 1-1 is a good score. You want to play those crunch games. But more importantly, we are happy to have put up a show for the crowd with no injuries," said Karthik after the game in Nagpur.

The three-match series is levelled at 1-1 with the decisive third game scheduled to be played on Sunday (Sept. 25) in Hyderabad.

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