Indian bowlers were on fire in Lucknow as they bowled out England for 129 in the run chase of 230. After the 100-run win, skipper Rohit Sharma was happy with the way his bowlers turned up but at the same time, he was critical of the hosts’ batting. Rohit had assessed that it was not a high-scoring track but he felt that 229 was not a par score at the venue and they fell 30 runs short of setting the ideal target.
“Looking at how the tournament has gone for us, we had to come and bat here. We were challenged upfront, they bowled pretty well upfront. To get to a total on a pitch that had something in it, we just wanted to get to a total we could play with. We were not great with the bat. Losing three wickets isn't the ideal situation. Couple of guys threw it, including myself. When you look at the overall picture, we were 30 runs short,” Rohit said in the post-match match presentation.
At the same time, Rohit lauded his bowlers for defending a low score with ease as England suffered a massive collapse in the tournament yet again.
“It's not something you see everyday. When you start your innings, you have to try and get a couple of wickets to put the pressure back on the opposition. You can always rely on our seamers to come good and get those crucial breakthroughs. They exploited the conditions. They put the ball in the right areas. We have a good balance (in the bowling), there's a bit of options and with experience as well,” the opener added.
Rohit was adjudged 'Player of the match' for his 87-run knock after three early wickets. His innings featured 10 fours and three sixes.
During his knock, the 36-year-old became the fifth Indian batter to score 18,000 runs in international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. Rohit also became India’s leading run-scorer in the World Cup 2023. He has scored 398 runs from six innings at an average of 66.33 including one century and two half-centuries.
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