The Indian team has continued their winning juggernaut under skipper Rohit Sharma by thrashing the white-ball behemoth England side in their own backyard and secured an unassailable 2-0 series lead with one match to go.
In the second match, the players from the Test side – Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah – returned and India opted for a aggressive approach at the top, replacing Ishan Kishan with Pant, who opened for the first time in T20Is. To an extent the move worked as Pant clattered 26 runs off 15 balls, with 4 fours and a six.
At the start of his innings, Pant was involved in a hilarious conversation with skipper and opening partner Rohit Sharma. Facing his first ball of the match, from left-arm pacer David Willey, Pant tapped the ball toward mid-wicket and set off for a quick and risky single.
India win 14 consecutive T20Is under Rohit Sharma
In fact, Pant was nowhere near the non-striker’s end when the fielder grabbed the ball, but the throw didn’t hit the stumps and Pant was saved from being run-out. However, Pant’s path of running was obstructed by Willey, as the bowler turned around and was watching the fielder.
After scampering for the single, Pant was heard saying to Sharma: “Yeh saamne aa gaya yaar, saamne aa gaya. Takkar mardu kya?” (He (Willey) came in front of me. Should I collide with him if he comes in my way again?)”
To which Rohit Sharma hilariously responded: “Maarde aur kya” (obviously hit him, why not).
This conversation between the bonhomie duo was caught on the stump-mic and it went viral on social media.
You can watch the video here:
pant and rohit got no chill#Rishabpant #RohitSharma𓃵 #ViratKohli #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/ZoUiPIfysn
— JustMyThoughts (@justmythought04) July 9, 2022
pant and rohit got no chillThis was India’s 14th consecutive T20I win under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma; and India haven’t lost a single T20I match under Sharma since he took over the role full time after the T20 World Cup last year.
Sharma was effusive in praise for his team as they won another T20I series.
“I think we all know how good they are as a team, wherever they go, not just in England. We were upto the challenge and were clinical in what we wanted to do and were clinical with the bat and the ball. When you win games it’s always nice. You feel confident and there’s a lot of confidence amongst the group as well, which is very important. We just want to continue and focus on what lies ahead for us. I really wanted to see how we perform after a win and we really want to keep challenging ourselves as a group,” the Indian skipper said.
The third and last T20I will be played on Sunday at Trent Bridge.
