Follow UsAn ecstatic Rohit Sharma said that he had no words for the character shown by his team today, and asserted that he was mighty impressed by how the experienced players stood up when the going got tough.
On the day, India were asked to bat first for the first time in this World Cup and were put under pressure instantly by England, who struck thrice inside the first 12 overs, including removing Virat Kohli for a duck. India, thanks to a 91-run stand between Rohit and KL Rahul, recovered admirably but then faltered again as they were restricted for just 229.
Defending 230 was going to be a tough ask but in a scarcely believable showing with the ball, the Men in Blue bowled England out for 129 to register a thumping 100-run win and go top.
“I think this was a game where we showed a lot of character,” Rohit said after the game.
“All the experienced players stood up at the right time and won us the game.”
In pursuit of 230, England got off to a flyer of sorts, reaching the 30-run mark inside 5 overs but were then blown away by a rocking new-ball spell from the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who reduced the Three Lions to 39/4 in the blink of an eye.
Under lights, there was plenty of purchase available for the quicker bowlers and Rohit said that he was pleased with the way the speedsters made use of the same.
“With the experience that our seamers have now, you can always rely and bank on them to get those crucial breakthroughs. That's exactly what our seamers did,” Rohit said.
“They exploited the conditions pretty well. There was swing, there was lateral a bit of lateral movement as well. They put the ball in the right areas to create that doubt in the batters' mind.”
That the Indian seamers had something to bowl at was largely thanks to Rohit, who arguably played his best knock of the tournament so far. The Indian skipper curtailed his aggressive avatar, withstood pressure and composed a sublime 87 to ensure India got to a par score.
When asked about his knock, the skipper said that his aim was to take the side to a ‘decent total’.
“We knew the pitch had something in it and we had the experience in our bowling, so we wanted to get to a decent total,” Rohit said.
“We were not great with the bat, losing three wickets in the first powerplay isn't the ideal situation. You have to then create a long partnership, which we did.”
However, Rohit rued the fact that many batters, including himself, threw away their wickets at the wrong time.
“Couple of guys threw it at the end, including myself. All I was thinking was to be positive, the balls in my area I want to put it away, that's how you put pressure back on the bowlers and the opposition as well. When you look at the overall picture, I thought we were 30 runs short,” the Indian captain said.
With the victory today, India have extended their unbeaten streak in this World Cup to six. They are top of the table and have all but qualified for the semis.
The Men in Blue have three days off before taking on Sri Lanka in a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.