Dubai, Feb 23 (IANS) After Virat Kohli’s unbeaten hundred – his 51th in the format – led India to a six-wicket win over Pakistan in a high-stakes Champions Trophy clash, skipper Rohit Sharma said the team wasn’t really surprised with how the veteran batter stepped up to play a magnificent knock on the big stage.
Kohli’s sublime knock, laced with seven boundaries, ensured India chased down 242 with 45 balls remaining. “Virat loves representing the country. He wants to be out there playing for the team and doing what he does best, which is what he did today. People in the dressing room aren’t surprised with what he did,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.
He also credited the bowlers, led by Kuldeep Yadav’s 3-40 and Hardik Pandya’s 2-31, for setting up the win by bowling out Pakistan for 241. “I think the way we started with the ball was a great effort from the bowling unit. We wanted to back the experience that we have in our batting line up to go and get those runs.”
“The credit goes to guys in the middle. They’ve played a lot of this format and they know what is required of them. We wanted to stay there as long as possible. Not to forget the way Pakistan bowled as well. It was a good performance from the entire unit.”
“Everyone came to the party and did what was required of them. A lot of the credit goes to the players. Rizwan and Saud stitched a good stand, was important not to let the game drift. We’ve played a lot of cricket together, especially at this format.”
“It can be tricky at times because some guys won’t get to bowl all 10 overs. I try to figure out who’s creating the most problems to the batters and make decisions. (My) hamstring’s okay at the moment.”
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted 280 would have been a good score for them after electing to bat first. The loss to India now puts defending champions Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the eight-team competition.
“We thought 280 was a good score on that pitch but their bowlers bowled very well. Me and Saud Shakeel took our time because we wanted to go deep but after that, there was some poor shot selection. They bowled very well, put us under pressure, and that’s why we only got 240.”
“When you lose, it means you didn’t perform in all departments. They were more attacking and we didn’t get the wickets we wanted. We failed to squeeze (them). Abrar gave us the wicket (of Shubman Gill), but Kohli and Gill took the game far from us. We need to improve our fielding. We know that we did a lot of mistakes in this match and last match as well. We can work on that.”
–IANS
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