Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, the Indian team has been unstoppable in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. India registered their seventh consecutive win on November 2 as they beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 302 runs at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After the win, Rohit thanked the crowd at his homeground and then gifted his shoe to a young fan. The video of Rohit’s sweet gesture has been making rounds on social media.
Rohit could not do much with the bat and got out off the second ball of the match by Dilshan Madushanka after scoring a boundary. Despite Rohit’s early departure, half-centuries from his opening partners Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer helped India post 357/8 after Kusal Mendis won the toss and opted to field first.
Sri Lanka were never in the hunt as they lost the wicket off the first ball of the innings bowled by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Mohammed Shami inflicted further damage with a record-breaking fifer as Sri Lanka registered their lowest World Cup score of 55.
“Very happy knowing that we have officially qualified now. Been a good effort from the squad, when we started off in Chennai. This was our goal, to qualify first and then obviously to be in the semis and the finals. The way we approached these 7 games, it was quite clinical. Everyone put in the effort and a lot of individuals have put their hand up,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation as India became the first team to qualify for semifinals.
“Was a good challenge to put runs on the board, and that's the kind of template you gotta have when you want to score that many runs. 350 on any pitch is a very good score and a lot of credit to the batting unit for taking us to that score and the bowlers did the job obviously. Shreyas is a very strong (in his mind) lad and today, as you saw, he went there and did what he is exactly known for and that is what we expect from him,” he added.
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