Pant was one-off experiment not permanent solution: Rohit

PTI, Feb 10, 2022, 8:12 AM IST

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India skipper Rohit Sharma says it was a one-off experiment to ask Rishabh Pant open the innings and not a permanent solution as his team is trying new combinations to sort out the batting order before the 2023 World Cup.

Regular opener Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal still not available, Pant scored 18 off 34 balls while batting alongside Rohit (5) in the second ODI against the West Indies.

”I have been asked to do different things, so this was different. People will be happy seeing Rishabh open then, but yeah it is not permanent,” Rohit said at the post match presentation. ”We will get Shikhar back next game, and he needs some game time. It is not always the results. We wanted to try it one game.

”We don’t mind losing a few games trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination.” India posted 237 for 9 and then returned to dismiss West Indies for 193 in 46 overs to record a comfortable 44-run victory.

”Obviously winning the series is a good feeling. There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity. ”We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out. The entire unit came out and bowled superbly. It is important for these guys to bat under pressure and that is how you will judge their character. ”Surya had to take his time and understand what the team wants from him. KL also batted superbly as he is consistently up and down in the order.” The Mumbaikar was awestruck by the sensational spell of Prasidh Krishna, who was adjudged Player of the Match for snapping four wickets for 12 just runs in his nine overs, which included three maidens.

”I have never seen a spell like that in India for a long time now. Bowled with a lot of pace and kept it going,” Rohit said.

”The others complimented him. When you have five bowlers and Deepak being sixth, you always need to keep rotating the bowlers.” Stand-in West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran admitted batting once again let the team down.

”With the bat, we didn’t build partnerships. We kept losing wickets at regular intervals. We need to continue to be aggressive. ”Pollard is a tough and big guy. Smith is a strong guy. He is a little inexperienced but sky is the limit for him. We did a good job with the ball and hopefully we can do the same in the final game. And also do better with the bat.” Ecstatic after his four-wicket haul, Krishna said he was rewarded for maintaining his line and length in seaming conditions.

”I have been striving hard to do this for a long time. So, I am very happy that we won. I was still looking to hit the good areas. When I came in to bat, I knew it was still seaming,” he said I would have laughed it off (If someone would have told him he would finish with the figures he ended with today). I had seen the wicket in the last game. ”Experimenting wasn’t possible as there was not much to defend. So, I stuck to good lines. I want to be as consistent as possible. The white ball cricket is a power game,” he said.