Hyderabad: Following his side's 12-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that his team "slipped up with the ball". A top-class bowling effort from Mohammed Siraj outweighed Michael Bracewell's heroic ton and partnership with Mitchell Santner as India overcame a late onslaught from these two all-rounders to clinch a 12-run win over New Zealand in the first match of the three-match series at Hyderabad on Wednesday.
"To be honest, the way he (Bracewell) was batting and the way it came on to the bat nicely, it was clean ball-striking. We knew that if we bowl well, we would be okay unless we really slipped up with the ball. Unfortunately, that's what happened. I did say at the toss that I would like to see us challenge ourselves, not quite the situation I expected but that's how it is," said Rohit during a post-match presentation.
The skipper also lauded Shubman Gill, who scored an explosive double ton and pacer Mohammed Siraj for their performances in the match. "He (Gill) is going really well. The form he was in, we wanted to make use of it and that's why we backed him in the SL series. Free-flowing batter and it is quite exciting to watch. Siraj has been brilliant, not just in this game but in the red-ball, T20 format and now ODIs. Really good to see what he does with the ball. Executing what he wants to do and he is very clear about his plans. Which is how it should be," concluded Rohit.
