India registered a near-flawless victory by seven wickets with plenty of overs to spare against Pakistan in the clash at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. However, there was a time when Virat Kohli almost sacrificed a wicket for captain Rohit Sharma during a horrible mix-up between the two. Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was not happy with Rohit’s call as felt that there was no need to take a risk when the ball had gone straight to the fielder.
The incident took place in the ninth over of India’s run chase of 192. Haris Rauf bowled a low full toss after getting smashed for a six. The opener pushed it straight to mid-on along the ground. Non-striker Kohli immediately put his hand up to signal that he did not want a single. But Rohit was halfway down the pitch. Kohli decided to sprint towards the striker’s end and put in a full-length drive. Had the Pakistan fielder been on target, Kohli would have lost his wicket. Kohli survived and the two batters shared a smile of relief.
Gavaskar was fuming at Rohit for the wrong call as he said in the commentary box, “There was no run...no run. The question is, was there was need for a risk like that?”
Kohli was batting on 14 when he survived a run out scare. However, Kohli could not make the most of the reprieve. He played a cross-batted shot against Hasan Ali and got caught by Mohammad Nawaz at mid-on.
But Rohit carried on and reached his half-century from just 36 balls. He smashed six sixes and as many fours in his 63-ball 86. India ended up reaching the target with seven wickets in hand and 117 balls to spare.
“The bowlers were the ones today as well who set the game up for us. I don't think it was a 190 pitch. At one stage we were looking at 280. The way they showed grit says a lot. That is something we pride ourselves in. Whoever gets the ball does the job. We've got 6 individuals who can do the job with the ball. My job as a captain is important there as well. It's to read the conditions and figure out who's the right guy to do the job. It's only because the guys - before entering the WC - they got a lot of runs. We were very clear what we wanted to do. Didn't want to be in two minds about who's going to bat where,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
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