We are moving in the right direction: Rohit on the World Cup preparations

A commanding performance by the Indian team has propelled them to a 49-run win against England in Edgbaston. With the win, the visiting side have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead with a game to spare at Trent Bridge on Sunday, June 10. 

After being asked to bat, India opened with a new combination as Rishabh Pant walked in with skipper Rohit Sharma. India have adopted an aggressive approach with the bat, especially in the first innings and started this game with the openers dominating proceedings. 

While Rohit set the platform with a blazing 31 off 20 deliveries, India lost wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs. However, Ravindra Jadeja steadied the innings and took the attack to the England bowling unit to remain unbeaten on 46 off 29 deliveries and power the team to 170 for the loss of eight wickets. 

In a post-match conversation, Rohit Sharma heaped praises on the all-rounder and said, " It was a brilliant knock under pressure. We wanted someone to bat through and get us a score, Jadeja had scored a hundred here, and he continued."

In pursuit of the target, England endured a horrendous start as they lost Jason Roy on the first delivery of the innings to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The right-arm pacer made optimum use of the swing on offer and accounted for Jos Buttler as well in his following over. With a flurry of wickets in the powerplay, England were on the back foot early in the chase. 

The onus of the side relied heavily on Dawid Malan and Harry Brook, and the duo helped the home team crawl to 36 for three in the powerplay. However, Yuzvendra Chahal scalped the wicket of the duo in the middle overs to derail England's run chase. Despite Moeen Ali's fighting 35 off 21 deliveries and David Willey's cameo of 33*, England were bundled out for 121. 

"We didn't play well and deserved to lose. When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, it is hard to catch up," Buttler said in the post-match conversation. 

Despite the loss, England will be pleased with the impressive debut of Richard Gleeson as the right-arm pacer scaled 3/15 in his four overs, with 16 dot deliveries. 

"It was a fantastic debut for Richard Gleeson, and he bowled exceptionally well along with Chris Jordon, who always bowls the tough overs. I am delighted for them," he said. 

With an eye on the T20 World Cup in the next couple of months, Rohit hinted that the Indian side would try out some options with the series done and dusted. 

"We look forward to another game tomorrow. We wanted to give guys sitting on the bench a chance, and I will go back and speak to the coach about that. We are in the right direction, and we need to keep ticking the boxes and move forward," he signed off.