London: Opener of the Indian cricket team Rohit Sharma was named man of the match in the just-concluded Test match at the Oval here. Rohit Sharma got a century in the second innings and laid the platform for India’s emphatic win by 157 runs. However, Sharma said Monday after the game, that bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur should also have been conferred the same honour along with him. Thakur got two half centuries in the game at crucial junctures. He also picked up crucial wickets, including that of England skipper Jpoe Root in the second innings.
The victory in Oval was India’s first in 50 years. The first one had come in 1971 under late Ajit Wadekar’s captaincy. That win helped India to achieve their first ever series win against England in England.
Rohit said he was happy at the way he and the team played. “I am very happy that the game has turned our way. When you are visiting any of these countries and you know that you are 2-1 up, you will take that any day,” Rohit, who scored an invaluable 127 in India’s second innings, told ‘bcci.tv’.
See video for Rohit’s interview
https://www.bcci.tv/videos/155035/the-oval-diaries-getting-candid-with-rohit-pujara
“It shows the effort that we have put so far in the series and this is not the end. We know there is one more match to go at Manchester. Hopefully, all of us, not just the batting and bowling unit, the entire group can put their foot down and just work towards the goal that we want to achieve as a team. I think we can pull this series win off. We have done some amazing things on this tour, I still believe we can finish on a high, the Indian opener added.
Incidentally this was Rohit’s first overseas century. All the other seven have come in India. However, he was the first to praise Shardul’s contribution.
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“I thought Shardul’s was a match-winning effort. To be honest, he deserved the man of the match also. He got a crucial breakthrough for the team when England were 100 without loss. He also got the wicket of Root then,” Rohit pointed out.
“How can we forget his batting. To come in and score 50 off just 31 balls in the first innings says a lot. Shardul loves his batting and he has worked hard on it, I have seen him over the years. He wants to prove a point that he can bat and can give us momentum-changing innings. Yes, I got the man of the match, but I really feel he also deserved it,” should have been part of that as well,” Rohit added.
