Rohit Sharma scored his third T20I ton against England at Bristol
Chasing an ambitious target of 199 which was set by the Three Lions, opener Rohit Sharma played some fearless, sensible cricket to smash his third Twenty20 International century off 56 balls in the third T20I to lead India to a 2-1 series win at Bristol. (IND vs ENG MATCH HIGHLIGHTS)
India were 195/3 in 18.2 overs when Rohit reached the triple figure with the help of 11 boundaries and 5 sixes in 56 balls.
After setting a gigantic target of 199, opener Rohit Sharma took matters into his own hands to hand to lead India onwards in the series decider at Bristol. It was India's sixth T20I series win in a row. (IND vs ENG 3rd T20I MATCH SCORECARD)
During the post-match presentation, Rohit stated that it was his 'style of play' and he did not panic too much despite the Bristol wicket carrying plenty of bounce and pace.
"That's the style of my play. Assessing conditions was important at the start of the innings. Once we see off the new ball, we always knew wicket was a good one with short boundaries. Idea was to hold the shape when playing big shots. That's exactly what I did. I like to be calm, not to panic too much. I know once you're there, you can make it up later. It's important to spend some time in the middle and try and play the field,"said Rohit after scoring his third T20I ton.
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The Indian vice-captain made a target of 199 look ridiculously easy on a small Bristol ground after the visiting bowlers did a commendable job at the back end to restrict the hosts to a sub-par score.
"Always important to try and assess the bowlers as well. With four fielders inside, there's always that option to take chances. With the wicket being so good, I knew I just had to stay there and things will get easier and easier. "
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It was all-rounder Hardik Pandya who scored the winning knock for India as he scored a blistering 33 off 14 balls and was brilliant with the ball as he took 4/38.
Heaping praise on the youngster, the Indian vice-captain stated he is a 'fearless' cricketer does whatever he wants to.
Pandya has done that for few years now. More often than not he'll play such innings in the back end. He's quite used to it now. The way he bowled gave him confidence. He's a fearless individual which allows him to do whatever he does on the field. That's what the team wants him to do.
With Rohit's match-winning knock, India clinched the three-match T20I series 2-1 at Bristol and will now shift focus to the three-match ODI series which begins July 12.
