Rohit Sharma Praises Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami After Historic Win Over New Zealand
New Delhi: Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team defeated Tom Latham’s New Zealand in match 21 of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, on October 22. The Men in Blue ended their 20-year-long losing streak against the Black Caps in the ICC tournaments with this win. Virat Kohli with his 95-run knock and Mohammed Shami with his fifer were heroes of the Indian victory.
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for both Kohli and Shami in the post-match presentation. He also reflected upon India’s dominance in the tournament so far as they have secured the top spot with 5 consecutive wins and are the only team with 10 points and zero losses.
“Good start to the tournament. Job is half done. Important to stay balanced. Not to think too far ahead. Important to stay in the present. Shami took the opportunity with both hands. He has the experience in these conditions and is a class bowler. At one stage, we were looking at 300 plus. Credit to our bowlers at the back end,” said Rohit in the post-match show.
“I am enjoying my batting. Both are different personalities but we (Him and Gill) compliment each other. Happy that we won. Nothing much to say. He (Kohli) has done this for us so many years. He backed himself to do the job. Kohli and Jadeja pulled us back when we lost a few wickets in the middle,” he added.
“The fielding is something we pride ourselves on. Today the fielding wasn’t clinical. Ravindra Jadeja is one of the best fielders in the world. These things happen. We know that fielding is something that will decide a lot of things going forward. We love travelling and playing in different parts of the game,” the India skipper concluded.
Virat Kohli may have been unable to reach his 49th ODI century and equal the record of the great Sachin Tendulkar, but his 95 off 104 balls ensured India completed a fifth straight chase on the trot and now sit on top of the points table with a hard-fought four-wicket win over New Zealand.
After pacer Mohammed Shami, playing his first game of the World Cup, picked a superb 5-54 and helped India restrict New Zealand to 273, Kohli dropped anchor and steered the run-chase to perfection, hitting eight fours and two sixes along with running 43 singles and four twos, to chase down 274 with two overs to spare. His brilliance in a run-chase took the spotlight away from Daryl Mitchell making a 127-ball 130 in the first innings.