It's crucial that we don't worry about external factors – Rohit Sharma

India outclassed Afghanistan in their second fixture of the ICC World Cup 2023 as Rohit Sharma went hammer and tongs up front with a scintillating century while Virat Kohli stayed unbeaten for 55 as India registered an 8-wicket win over the Afghans to make it two in two.

Rohit's knock was the crux of India’s batting brilliance as he hammered 131 from just 84 balls, which featured 16 fours and five sixes. Scoring at a strike rate of 155.95, he propelled India to a feisty start that also proved to be the undoing for an upbeat Afghanistan side who were hoping for an upset after a fine batting display.

Awarded the Player of the Match, Rohit opened up at length about the match and how India’s depth makes them ready for the upcoming challenge against Pakistan as well. 

He also shed some light about the external factors that are being talked about, snubbing them like always and only focusing on the positives.

Talking about the match, Rohit stated, “Was a good win for us, very important to get that momentum at the start of the tournament. It is about absorbing pressure and taking the right decision on the field. There will be a spell from the opposition where you will have to absorb pressure. Leading up to the tournament we had played such games. You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with the bat and guys who can absorb like the last game.”

He concluded by talking about the Pakistan fixture and all the hype around it, saying, “For us it's crucial that we don't worry about external factors and just look at things we can control. We just need to show up and do well. Things like what the pitch is like, what combo we can play is what we can control. What happens outside we won't be worried about it. It's just about focusing on what we can do as players and how we can perform.”