Credit to Virat and KL on how they went about the chase – Rohit Sharma

India had a fine start to their World Cup 2023 campaign courtesy of a memorable victory against Australia as KL Rahul and Virat Kohli steadied the Indian ship after a massive jolt upfront and then ushered it to safe shores at the end.

The collapse at the start, where India were 2/3 at one point, would trigger a few frowns but eventually it is about dovetailing as a unit and coming together to shine in the global tournament. Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, was happy to see his team brush aside the Australian challenge.

Talking at the post-match presentation, Rohit explained at length about why the game would serve as a massive impetus for the Men in Blue while also helping them to learn from the errors that were committed in the opener.

Expressing his joys for India’s remarkable victory, Rohit said, “Pretty exciting. Good feeling to come out on top. It was a good game to start the tournament for us. I thought it was magnificent, especially the fielding and we saw the effort from everyone today, conditions like this it would be tough.”

He then shifted his focus to how the Indian bowlers used this condition, stating, “Our bowlers used the conditions perfectly and we knew there would be assistance for everyone, even the seamers got some reverse, the spinners bowled in the nice areas and all in all it was a great effort.”

Talking about his own and his team’s batting, Rohit said, “I was (nervous), you don't want to start your innings like that, credit to the Aussies bowlers as they bowled in good areas but some loose shots as well, when you have that kind of target you want to score as much as possible in the powerplay, but credit to Virat and KL on how they went about the chase.”

The Indian captain concluded by talking about the main challenge that India will have to face and the fans who were out in the stands, stating, “That is going to be the challenge for us as a team, moving to different conditions and adapting, whoever suits the conditions will have to come and do the job. Chennai never disappoints, they love their cricket and for them to sit in that heat and come out and cheer for the team says a lot.”