West Indies have become a different team under Pollard's captaincy: Rohit
Guru SaiReporter
Posted - 2019-12-11T02:43:58+06:00
Updated - 2019-12-11T02:43:58+06:00
Indian vice-captain
knows very well about
as they both are part of the same IPL franchise,
for a long time. Now, Rohit reckons that
have transformed into a different side altogether under Kieron Pollard's captaincy. Rohit who shared the same space with Pollard for several years at Mumbai Indians labelled him as a very smart cricketer.
[caption id="attachment_134217" align="aligncenter" width="650"]
Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma.[/caption]
Mumbai Indians skipper knows how strong West Indies are now as they came from behind to level the series. Both the nations will give absolutely everything to win the series as the decider will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on December 11.
"I know Pollard really well and he has great knowledge about the game. I know as a leader what he would be expecting from the team. Under his leadership, it is a different team that we are seeing now, so yes, we have to be at our best when we play them," said Rohit Sharma on the eve of the third T20I on Wednesday.
"He (Pollard) is a very smart player, smart thinker and he has been the captain of the team. When it comes to Mumbai (Indians), he has always been part of the leadership group and last year when I wasn't available for one game, he captained MI. So, he has always been part of the leadership group and I know how he thinks," Rohit was quoted as saying by PTI.
West Indies lost to India in the first match as India came out on top beating the visitors by six wickets in the run-chase at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. However, West Indies announced their arrival in a grand fashion by beating India by eight wickets in the second ODI in Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
"They are very unpredictable as a team, you never know what they can come up with on a given day like we saw the other day. Even the first game, they played very well and it was Virat's (Kohli) brilliance that got us over. But with West Indies, this is always expected and they play well as a team," Rohit, who has not done much with the bat in the two matches, said.
"We have got to stick to our plans, back it and execute it in the middle. Last game we made some mistakes on the field, whether it was with the bat, ball and also on the field. We know where we lacked as a team so we just need to tighten up in those areas and make sure that those mistakes are not repeated again and again," he added.
In the last match, Indian bowlers were tonked by West Indies' batsmen to all parts of the ground. Rohit Sharma said that it would be a challenge for Indian bowlers to bowl at the Caribbeans, considering the fact that they are capable of hitting big sixes.
"We just need to be thinking as if it is a good challenge to come against a team like West Indies where they have got some power-hitters all the way through. So it is a good challenge for our bowlers to bowl against a team like that where you know every second ball they will come and try hit a six," Rohit Sharma said.