"Didn't Come As Easy," Says Rohit Sharma After Winning 1st T20I vs New Zealand

IND vs NZ 1st T20I: India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday admitted that the win against New Zealand in the first T20 International did not come easy in the end but said the players would learn from the experience.

India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday admitted that the win against New Zealand in the first T20 International did not come easy in the end but said the players would learn from the experience. India bungled towards end before recovering in time to fashion a five-wicket win over New Zealand in Rohit's first match as full-time T20I captain. The home team was cantering to a comfortable win but messed up the chase in the final four overs before Rishabh Pant took India past the target of 165 with a boundary in the final over.

"It didn't come as easy as we expected, so great learning for the guys, to understand what needs to be done, not about power-hitting all the time," he said at the post-match presentation.

"As a captain and a team, happy that those guys finished the game off. A good game for us, missing a few players, opportunity to other guys to show their ability."

Rohit said at one stage it looked like New Zealand would score 180-plus but a "complete bowling performance" did not let it happen. He also lavished praised on player-of-the match Suryakumar Yadav for his 40-ball 62.

"Sky (Suryakumar) is a very important player for us in the middle, plays spin well," said Rohit who made 48 off 36 balls. On his dismissal off the bowling of Mumbai Indians team-mate Trent Boult, he said, "Trent Boult knows my weakness, I know his strength. When I am captaining him I always tell him to bluff and that's what he did. Happy with the win, first win, always nice."