“It was a challenging pitch”: Rohit Sharma following India’s 100-run win against England

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: Following India’s 100-run win against England in the ODI World Cup 2023 at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, ‘Men in Blue’ skipper Rohit Sharma said that it was challenging pitch but it got better to bat on as the game progressed.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit said that it was really important to create that partnership with KL Rahul in the first 10 overs of the first inning.

The skipper added that batting against the new ball was a bit challenging and it was not easy to rotate strike.

“Looking at where we were after the first 10 overs it was really important to create that partnership with KL Rahul. It was a challenging pitch, it got better to bat on as the game progressed, but happy with that win. I have experience, it’s not only about going out there and playing my shots (got to assess the conditions and situation) as well.

It was necessary for me to create that partnership with KL. I still felt we were 20 runs short (at the halfway stage). Batting against the new ball was a bit challenging, the ball got softer and it wasn’t easy to rotate strike either. As I said we were 20-30 runs short, but I will take that win any day,” Rohit said.

In the match, England opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

India put 229/9 in their 50 overs. Stars like Virat Kohli (0), Shubman Gill (9) and Shreyas Iyer (4) failed to score.

But useful knocks from skipper Rohit Sharma (87 in 101 balls with 10 fours and three sixes), KL Rahul (39 in 58 balls, with three fours) and Suryakumar Yadav (49 in 47 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped India go beyond the 200-run mark.

David Willey (3/45) was the pick of the bowlers for England. Rashid and Chris Woakes (2/33) took two wickets. Mark Wood got one wicket.

In the run chase of 230, England was never really a threat except for Liam Livingstone (27), the only batter to cross 20 runs. Mohammed Shami (4/22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/32) demolished the English batting line-up. Kuldeep Yadav (2/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (one wicket) also bowled really well.

Rohit Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ for his gusty knock.

With this, India is at the top with six wins in six matches and has 12 points. England is at the bottom with one win and five losses in six matches.