India captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday explained his mindset behind trying to force a result out of the Kanpur Test which lost two full days due to the rain and wet outfield at the Green Park Stadium.
India wrapped up the Test in less than two days despite 8 sessions being lost to the weather and conditions. The hosts needed just 173 overs to bowl out Bangladesh twice and win the match by 7 wickets to clinch the series 2-0.
Captain shows the way
Rohit's led from the front once again by showing what to do with the bat as he started his first innings knock with a couple of sixes off the first two balls.
That revealed India's intent of outscoring Bangladesh as quickly as possible, and then take a slender lead before declaring on the fourth day itself.
"We had to think a lot about how the game can keep moving forward. Once we lost two and a half days, when we came on day 4 we wanted to get them out as quickly as possible and see what we can do with the bat.
"All depended on how many runs they get. When they got bowled out for 230, it wasn't about the runs we get but the overs we wanted to bowl at them. Which meant we had to try and up the run rate and score as many as possible," the 37-year-old said after the match.
Kanpur win massive boost for India's WTC Final charge
It was important for India to win this Test to remain in top position on the WTC points table. The two-time finalists need to win 4 out of their remaining 10 Tests to qualify for the summit clash for the third time in a row.
Rohit credited India's bowlers immensely for the victory as they had to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch in very little time to try and push for victory.
"To make a game out of it on that pitch was a superb effort from the bowlers. And then the batters obviously with that mindset to buy into the thought of going and getting runs as quickly as possible.
"It was a risk we were willing to take because when you're trying to bat like that, you can be bundled out for a low score. But we were ready for it even if we got bowled out for 100-150. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to be in the game and get a result," Rohit added.
