T20 cricket is also about basics: Rohit Sharma

Dhaka, 25 February। Indian opener Rohit Sharma, who played a match-winning innings of 83 runs in the Asia Cup opener against Bangladesh, said T20 cricket is also about getting the basics right.

Rohit was dropped by Shakib Al Hasan in the 11th over of the Indian innings but he hardly gave a chance to the rivals in the 27 balls thereafter and tonked the bowlers to every corner of the ground.

"My key is always assessing the conditions and playing according to the requirements of the team at a given point. I try and play according to that and it is really helping me of late," Rohit was quoted as saying by bcci.tv on Thursday.

"Everything boils down to the basics. You cannot forget your basics even when you are playing T20 cricket. Sometimes you come across a pitch which is not suited for going and playing your shots and you have to bide your time and see what is happening."

The 28-year-old, who has hit a purple patch of late, said he wanted to lay a foundation for his side before changing gears in the later stages of the innings.

"It is not always that easy to go about playing shots. You have to create a foundation behind you and pace your innings accordingly. That was my idea -- to lay a foundation for my innings and the team. I know, once I have that foundation going, I can play my shots and switch gears. The moment I walked in to bat, I saw the pitch and realised that it wasn't a 160 kind of a pitch. The idea initially was to get to 140-150, and we knew that we will end up getting more than that if we were thinking about that target," he said.

Rohit was ably supported by veteran all rounder Yuvraj Singh and newcomer Hardik Pandya with whom he shared two half-ton partnerships.

"Those were two crucial partnerships. We lost three wickets in a hurry and it was important for us to get going and keep the game moving forward. The half-century stand that me and Yuvraj Singh got was also important at that stage. A wicket at that stage would have pushed us down in the game and it would have been really difficult to get back after that. Credit to Yuvraj Singh as well, to come and bat the way he did. Hardik too changed the momentum of the game completely when he walked into bat," the Mumbai batsman said.

India cruised to a 45-run victory and Rohit is pleased that they could start the tournament on a winning note.
"It is always important to start the tournament on a fresh and positive note. I am glad that I was able to put up that performance for the team and we could achieve that win. It was an important win because Bangladesh can be dangerous. The way they have played in the past, you never know what is coming from them," he said.

Speaking about his form, Rohit said, "I don't want to look back too much on my form. I just want to carry it to every tournament I play."

"I am not harping on what has happened in the past, I want to look forward. We did pretty well in the T20Is against Australia and Sri Lanka, but for me, it is important that I look forward and not think too much about what has happened before. I am a very positive person and someone who looks as to what is coming next. Pakistan is next and I am looking forward to it."

Agency