Rohit Sharma silenced the critics with a whirlwind 74-run knock off 47 deliveries. Rohit got India off to a flier with big hits as his partner KL Rahul complimented him from the other end. After winning the ‘Player of the Match’ award, the veteran opener revealed that what he did against Afghanistan was not his “natural game”
“Today it was necessary to get off to a good start, and that's not my natural game - I usually like to get in. So I made an effort to settle in, play cricketing shots, and put up a big total,” Rohit told the broadcasters after India’s massive 66-run win over Afghanistan.
The 34-year-old shared that the plan was to go after the bowlers from the start. He revealed that the fact that net run rate (NRR) may come into play later in the group stages. He also lauded his opening partner KL Rahul for his 48-ball 69 in the record-breaking 140 run partnership.
“The idea was to go after it, and get off to a good start, which didn't happen in the first two games and lay the platform for the others. Exceptional batting from Rahul, and that partnership was vital. We were prepared to field first, and it was a good pitch to bat on. Getting to a respectable total was important, and the NRR could come into play so we had to win by a good margin, so glad we got that, he explained.
Rohit and Rahul’s opening partnership is India’s highest in the T20 World Cup breaking the 14-year-old record of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir against England in Durban. The partnership helped India post 210/2, their second-highest total in T20 World Cup.
