India captain Rohit Sharma was the toast of Men in Blue’s thumping win over Afghanistan in the 9th match of the ICC World Cup 2023. This encounter was played in Delhi on October 11, 2023.
Afghanistan posted 272/8 after choosing to bat first. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi made 80 in 88 balls and Azmatullah Omarzai made 62 runs. Together they added 121 runs for the 4th wicket and were looking like taking their team past the 300-run mark. But Jasprit Bumrah with 4/39 and Hardik Pandya with 2 wickets halted those plans.
In the chase, Rohit Sharma dominated the proceedings right from the start as he completed his century in just 63 balls. He finished with 131 runs in 84 balls with 16 fours and 5 sixes. Ishan Kishan also made 47 runs with 5 fours and 2 sixes.
In the end, Virat Kohli with 55* and Shreyas Iyer with 25* took India home in 15 overs and 8 wickets to spare. Rohit Sharma was named the Player of the Match as well for his record 7th World Cup century.
Speaking at the post-match, Rohit said: “It was a good pitch to bat on, just backed myself to play my natural game. I knew once I got my eye in, the wicket was going to get easier for me. Something that I have been working on from a long time. It's a special feeling to get a World Cup hundred. Really happy with that. Don't want to think too much (scoring 7 hundreds in just three World Cups), I don't want to lose my focus. You need to make such things count. You gotta make it big. Some of it (the shots he plays) is premeditated. I let my instincts take over at times, sometimes it really works well. It's my job to make sure to get those starts especially in run chases. That's something I have done in the past and something I love doing. Sometimes it (attacking the bowlers) works, sometimes it doesn't. Just need to keep doing it and keep putting oppositions under pressure going forward.”
He further talked about the win that India registered against Afghanistan and how the team played.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma said: “Was a good win for us, very important to get that momentum at the start of the tournament. It is about absorbing pressure and taking the right decision on the field. There will be a spell from the opposition where you will have to absorb pressure. Leading up to the tournament we had played such games. You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with bat and guys who can absorb like the last game.”
He was asked about the upcoming match against Pakistan on Saturday in Ahmedabad.
Rohit Sharma said: “For us, it's crucial that we don't worry about external factors and just look at things we can control. We just need to show up and do well. Things like what the pitch is like, and what combo we can play is what we can control. What happens outside we won't be worried about it. It's just about focusing on what we can do as players and how we can perform.”
(Star Sports inputs)
