Rohit and Kohli’s return to form a matter of 25-30 deliveries: Nayar
India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, however, thinks that the duo’s return to their best is a matter of regaining confidence and composure in the initial phase of their innings.
Head coach Ravi Shastri, along Captain Virat Kohli, was criticised for selecting Rohit Sharma over Ajinkya Rahane in the first two Tests and leaving out Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Ishant Sharma for the second Test, which India eventually lost to South Africa.
However, after their debacle in the Test series, Indian squad led by Kohli started the ODI series on winning note on Thursday.
Advertisement
Following India’s win over South Africa in Durban, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri took a jab at his critics and asked, “Where are the experts now?”
Advertisement
As per TOI reports, Shastri said, “Sometime during the Centurion Test, Ajinkya was getting back into his rhythm. He was knocking well in the nets and Rohit was struggling, so we decided to do whatever looked better at that point in time and Ajinkya was in the eleven. And he scored at the Wanderers. Dropping or picking Bhuvi was not chopping or changing. It was a decision taken according to the pitch and the conditions. It’s simple, had we scored more runs in the second innings at Cape Town and the second innings at Centurion, this whole series would’ve been different.”
Earlier in the first ODI, an unbeaten century from Virat Kohli and steady batting by Ajinkya Rahane propelled India to a six-wicket victory in Durban.
After winning the toss, South Africa opted to bat and scored 269 runs and chasing a target of 270 runs, India crossed the line in 45.3 overs.
With their win, visitors have taken a 1-0 lead in the six-match series.
Advertisement
