Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed Shreyas Iyer for steering the Men in Blue in the middle overs to a massive total against Sri Lanka in the ongoing World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Shreyas with his knock of 82 took the fight against the Sri Lankan bowlers and ensured India’s run rate stayed above 6 and they stayed on course to post a total above 350.
Rohit praised Shreyas for the way he batted throughout the first innings after India lost back-to-back wickets of the two set batters, Shubman Gill (92) and Virat Kohli (88).
“Credit to the batters for getting to that total and then the seamers, obviously. Shreyas is a very strong lad, strong in his mind, and today he did what he is known for – take on the opposition and the bowlers. He’s been working very hard on his game and today we saw what he’s capable of. As for Siraj, he’s a quality bowler and if he does that, it’s quite a big difference for us. So very happy with how the squad as performed, even Surya in the last game,” Rohit said after the game.
He went on to express his delight after India became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup and praised the entire team for showcasing consistency through the seven games.
“I’m very happy knowing we have qualified for the semifinals; this was the first goal. But how we approached the seven games has been quite clinical, and a lot of individuals have put in the effort, put their hands up and stood up.
It was a good challenge for us to bat and put runs on the board. That’s the kind of template you want to have when you want to score that many runs,” Rohit added.
Coming to the match, Mohammed Siraj’s sensational spell was shadowed by Mohammed Shami, who took the onus to send India to the semi-finals of the World Cup after a thumping 302-run victory.
