Cricket World Cup 2023: Majestic Rohit Sharma leading from the front

The Indian captain has also hit 20 sixes — most by a player so far in this World Cup

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India's Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the match against England. — Reuters

By Anis Sajan

Published: Mon 30 Oct 2023, 9:01 PM

Last updated: Tue 31 Oct 2023, 9:13 AM

India have been flying high in the World Cup with six wins out of six games and sitting right on top. It can’t be denied that it's their captain Rohit Sharma who has been leading them from the front with the bat.

Barring the first game where he fell for a duck, Rohit has been supreme and taken the attack to the opposition, scoring 393 runs in the next five games, with one hundred and two half-centuries at a striker rate of over 100.

The Indian captain has also hit 20 sixes — most by a player so far in this World Cup. He is not afraid of charging the bowlers and hitting them over the top.

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All his five innings have been special, but the one played against England was his best as it came on a tricky pitch where he was the only batsman to score a half-century.

The wicket at Lucknow was sluggish and slow and batting was not easy. After India lost early wickets, Rohit played patiently while never missing out on a chance to score. His 87 on that pitch was a priceless innings.

This innings was special for many reasons as this was the first time India were batting first and were tested by the English bowlers.

Moreover, it came when India were in big trouble at 40/3. The Indian captain gave a masterclass in the art of batting on tricky wickets.

India are now top of the table with 12 points. They are the only undefeated team so far, thanks to some splendid batting performances from Rohit and Virat Kohli.

Of course, they have been superbly backed by the bowling attack in this tournament.

But Rohit and Kohli have scored the bulk of the runs. It remains to be seen if the other batters can step up and deliver for India if the two big guns have a poor game.

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Anis Sajan

Published: Mon 30 Oct 2023, 9:01 PM

Last updated: Tue 31 Oct 2023, 9:13 AM

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