Rohit Sharma exhilarated with Team India’s collective performance against Pakistan

India had an all-round performance in place to push aside Pakistan and send them crashing out of the ICC Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain got off to an explosive start to set the tone right for the chase to be successful. Talking at the post-match presentation, Sharma highlighted how the start by the bowlers left Pakistan scurrying for answers while heaping unreserved praise on experience being a key factor in India’s massive win over their arch-rivals.

He also pointed out how the Indian bowling unit dovetailed to perfection and eventually set the platform for the Men in Blue to clinch the bragging rights of the game. Rohit also had the highest praise reserved for Virat Kohli after his sparkling century sealed the game for Team India in stunning fashion.

Shedding light about the start by the bowlers, Sharma said, “The way we started with the ball was superb. To restrict them to that kind of a score was a great effort from the bowling unit. We knew it gets slightly better to bat under lights, gets slower as well. We wanted to back the experience that we have in our batting line-up to go out there and get those runs.”

Underlining the performance by the Indian bowling unit, Rohit added, “The credit goes to guys like Axar, Kuldeep and Jadeja in the middle there. They've played a lot - this format of cricket and understand what is required out of them. They stitched a very good partnership - Rizwan and Shakeel - so important for us not to let the game drift away. We wanted to stay there as long as possible. The experience comes into play of all these three spinners. Not to forget the way Hardik, Harshit and Shami bowled as well. If you look at the bowling unit performance, everyone came to the party and did exactly what was required on that pitch.”

Stating further, Rohit said, “This bunch of boys, we've played a lot of cricket together, especially this format and they do understand what kind of job is required out of them. It can be quite tricky at times where some guys will not get to bowl 10 overs because we have six bowlers. It's important what is working on particular that day and try and maximise those guys. Axar and Kuldeep stepped up today. In the previous game, it was Jadeja.”

He concluded with a word of unreserved praise for Kohli, stating, “He loves representing the country. He wants to be out there playing for the team, doing what he does the best, which is to go out there and do what he did today. That's what he's known for. Over the years, we've seen it with him. People sitting inside the dressing room are not surprised with what he has done. It was good for him to be out there in the middle, finish the game off and then a couple of crucial knocks from the other guys as well.