Press Trust of India
Perth, Jan 13: His last three international hundreds have been in losing causes and Rohit Sharma stated that even the best of knocks do not give a player satisfaction if the team ends up on a losing note.
Rohit smashed his way to an unbeaten 171 in the first ODI against Australia but the home team comfortably won the game by five wickets here Tuesday.
“It was a great knock and it is always important to start the series on a positive note. (But) it was disappointing in the end not to be on the winning side because that is what matters at the end of the day. How many runs you score doesn’t count if your team doesn’t end up winning,” Rohit was quoted as saying by ‘bcci.tv’ Wednesday.
“Personally, it was important that I could get the team off to a good start and then carry on the momentum from there. That is exactly what I did,” added the Indian ODI opener.
Someone, who is now known for scoring big hundreds in the 50-over format, Rohit is happy that he is carrying on the good work after getting a start.
“We always talk about this in our team meeting that one batsman needs to carry on and bat as long and deep as possible. One set batsman batting till the end makes a huge difference. I feel I have been doing that of late. I have been getting past 100 and then trying my best to continue after the century,” informed Rohit.
“Hundred is just a milestone, but you have to look at it from the team’s perspective as well. I want to get big hundreds for the team. Hopefully the next time around, it will win us the game,” Rohit added.
On bouncy Australian tracks, the key to success is playing with soft hands and the Mumbaikar said he has exactly been doing that.
“It (playing with soft hands) is something that I have been doing regularly. With two white balls being used in ODIs it is always better to assess the pitch, the weather and the other conditions, before playing your shots,” the batsman pointed out.
“As a batsman, it is important to analyse what is happening. You have to be wary of each and every factor. When I went into bat at the WACA, I had a game plan. After settling in, I needed to execute it to the hilt, which I managed to do,” Rohit stated.
