Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday lauded his bowlers for bundling out Pakistan for a paltry 191 on a pitch that had nothing much in it for the bowlers during their marquee World Cup match. Five Indian bowlers grabbed two wickets apiece as the home side bowled out Pakistan in 42.5 overs, before chasing down the target in the 31st over.
Rohit was chuffed with his bowlers for laying the foundation of India's eighth successive win over Pakistan in ODI World Cups.
"The bowlers were the ones who set the game up for us. I don't think it was a 190 kind of pitch. At one stage, we were looking at 280," said Rohit during the post-match presentation. The way they (bowlers) showed grit says a lot. That is something we pride ourselves in. Whoever gets the ball does the job for the team," said Rohit.
"We've got six 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," he added.
Rohit Sharma underlines clarity of plans before the 2023 World Cup:
The skipper also praised his batters who have been firing on all cylinders.
"It's only because the guys - before entering the World Cup - they got a lot of runs. We were very clear (about) what we wanted to do. We didn't want to be in two minds about who's going to bat where.".
However, Rohit said it would be important to keep the momentum going and not get carried away.
"All in all, it's looking good. I want to keep my fingers crossed, and don't want to get too excited. I don't want to get too low as well. We want to stay balanced, keep calm and keep moving forward.
"Every opposition we come up against is all quality. You have to play well on that particular day, and that's what we're looking at."
Jasprit Bumrah earned the Player of the Match award for his figures of 7-1-19-2. India will next face Bangladesh on Thursday (October 19th) in Pune.
