New Delhi [India] : Former Australia captain Aaron Finch defined the role of skipper Rohit Sharma which has allowed India to get off to a quick start throughout the World Cup even against tough opposition.
Finch talked about the quick-fire approach that Rohit has adopted which has resulted in easing the pressure on the Indian batters and unsettling the opposition bowlers as a result. The former batter feels that bowlers are aware of the approach that Rohit is going to use against them and that puts the bowler on a defensive mindset before the game even begins.
“The thought process behind Rohit is he’s trying to get the team off to a quick start. You see, the wicket tends to get slower as the tournament has gone on. So, that initial powerplay to put pressure on the opposition is really crucial. I think what that’s done is it’s changed the bowler’s mindset before the game has even started, knowing that Rohit’s going to come really hard at them. They start panicking a bit and maybe go into a defensive mode early on, and that plays into his hands as India has gotten off to some brilliant starts,” Finch said on Star Sports
Former cricketer Matthew Hayden feels that Rohit’s performance has allowed the likes of Virat Kohli to do their own thing, “Rohit Sharma has been really aggressive in this World Cup tournament. When you think about the mindset of what that means for his side, one is he has made the batting look easy, and two is he has a strike rate of 130 inside the powerplay. That has allowed the middle order, especially Virat Kohli, to just set out and put on that computer brain of his and work out exactly what needs to happen. He’s been a marquee player for India for some time, missed out in 2011, mind you, come 2023 he is not missing out.”
With 503 runs, Rohit is currently the fourth-highest run scorer in the tournament in nine innings with a batting average of 55.88. Rohit will return to on-field action during India’s World Cup semi-final clash against New Zealand on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.