‘To make a game out of that pitch was a super effort from the bowlers’ - Rohit Sharma after India’s phenomenal win in Kanpur

The second and third day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur were called off due to rain and wet outfield at the Green Park Stadium. A chance of getting a result looked unlikely, but the Rohit Sharma-led side took the challenge and got the job done with more than a session remaining on the final day. They bowled out Bangladesh for 233 runs in the first innings and managed a 52-run lead thereafter.

In the second innings, they bundled the Najmul Shanto-led side to just 146 runs and got the job done with the bat as India won by seven wickets. After the game, Rohit noted that despite losing 180 overs due to unavoidable circumstances, the hosts never looked for a draw. They played to win on Day 4 and 5 and the captain gave credit to his bowlers for being exceptional on a surface that had very little help on offer.

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“When we came on day four, we thought, okay, let's try and get them out as quickly as possible and then see with the bat what we can do. Once they had got 230-odd, we said it was not about the runs we get but it was about the overs we wanted to bowl at them. It meant we had to try and up the run-rate and score as many as possible because the pitch did not have much for the bowlers,” Rohit was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Scoring runs quickly was a risk we were willing to take: Rohit

“To make a game out of that pitch was a super effort from the bowlers, and then for the batters to buy into that thought of going and getting the runs as quickly as possible. It was a risk we were willing to take because when you're trying to bat like that, it is very easy that you can get bundled out for a low score as well. But we were ready with that factor as well, that even if we get all out for 100-150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to be in the game and try and get a result,” he explained.

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India’s change in mentality with regard to going for the win has gained massive praise from former cricketers. Ex-India batter Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out the same when he mentioned that it is Rohit’s biggest contribution to Indian cricket, and that would be the legacy the 37-year-old will leave behind.