We were very clinical with the bat – Rohit Sharma on India’s win against Australia

India sailed hammer and tongs to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy as they thumped Australia in the semi-finals. A chase which had its fair shares of twists and turns was being spearheaded by Virat Kohli and he managed to knit together a web of dominion which slowly consumed the Australians. The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma heaped praise on the collective brilliance of the Men in Blue at the post-match presentation, highlighting the fact that the players knew exactly what was needed from them.

Talking about the overall game and India’s performance, Rohit said, “Till the last ball is bowled, nothing is certain. That's how this game is. Halfway through the game, we felt like it's a reasonable score. We had to really bat well to get that score because the nature of the pitch doesn't allow you to just come in and keep playing the way you want to play. We were very clinical with the bat. Yes, we got the runs in the 48th over, but I thought we were calm and composed in our chase.”

He also revealed how the pitch played out, stating, “Looked better (pitch). That's been the nature of the surfaces here - it's very uncertain. The one which we played today played slightly better than the one we played against New Zealand. The talks that we are having within our group is about playing good cricket, understanding the situation and then taking it from there, not to read too much into what the pitch is doing.”

Focusing on how experience played a key role in shaping India’s win, Rohit added, “There are a lot of experienced guys within the group, we'll leave it up to them to make those decisions when they're out in the middle. That's something that I really wanted to have - six bowling options and at the same time how I can get batting till No. 8 as well. It was a bit challenging as well.”

He concluded with a word about the team selection, adding, “When we were making up the squad, this is something that we discussed at length - how we can have six bowling options and at the same get that batting depth as well. The guys are there to know exactly what is required out of them.”