India’s scintillating win over New Zealand in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-finals continues to garner praise from different corners of the world. The men in blue made it to the World Cup finals after 12 years and it’s Rohit Sharma who has been leading the team to glory.
Back in 2011, the Hitman suffered a massive heartbreak after failing to make it to the squad of 15. MS Dhoni’s India lifted the World Cup and Rohit missed out on being a part of the history. But more than a decade later when the tournament returned to India, he has been right there leading an invincible team which has registered 10 straight wins in the tournament.
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Rohit couldn’t get his fifty against the Kiwis but the start provided by him laid the foundation for a mammoth score of 397. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar lauded the Indian skipper for his fearless batting against the Black Caps.
In a video shared on microblogging site X, Akhtar said Rohit played superbly against the likes of Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner.
“India brutally hammered New Zealand. Rohit Sharma was like, there’s a problem with Boult and Santner, let me hit them and sort it out. I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t get a hundred. He could have scored multiple centuries in the tournament or a fifty in the semi-finals. But it’s not a big deal. He still can do it [in the finals].
“All credit goes to Rohit Sharma as a captain, as a player and as a batter. He begins the show with a blast and flattens the opposition. Maar maar ke bharta nikal deta hai Rohit Sharma (He just nullifies the opposition),” he added.
“Had Shubman been there, he could have scored a hundred. But he’s back from dengue, the body takes time to recover.”
Akhtar further heaped praise on Virat Kohli who went past Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record for most ODI hundreds. The former cricketer said it was nice to see Kohli shattering his idol’s record with the latter present at the venue.
“But it all came down to one man – Virat Kohli. It felt so good that he shattered Sachin’s record in front of the master himself; the man who Kohli valued the most and called him his hero. It was a pleasure to see how he gave respect to Tendulkar after getting to his hundred,” Akhtar concluded.
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