ICC World Cup 2023: 'We Needed Virat Kohli To Play on Tricky Pitch,' Says Rohit

#CWC23 #INDvsSA | Rohit Sharma heaped praise on centurion #ViratKohli after India's victory over South Africa.

ICC World Cup 2023: 'We Needed Virat Kohli To Play on Tricky Pitch,' Says Rohit Sharma

(Photo: PTI)

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Riding on Virat Kohli’s record-equalling 49th ODI century, the Indian cricket team defeated South Africa by a mammoth 243-run margin in their eighth 2023 ICC World Cup match.

Speaking about the same, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma lauded the centurion and said that on a tricky pitch they needed someone like him to tackle the situation.

“Today was not an easy pitch, you needed someone like Kohli. We needed him to go out there and play the situation,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by The Quint)

‘Last Two Games Have Shown What Shreyas Iyer Is Capable Of’

When asked if Shreyas Iyer’s knock of 77 runs off 87 balls repaid his faith in the batter, Sharma said, “Even if the faith hadn't been repaid, I would have still stuck to them. We need to keep the trust. It can't be done everyday. The last two games have shown what Iyer is capable of.”

The skipper also hailed the bowling department and credited them for India’s success.

“We got a decent score and then the seamers did the job. We lost a wicket in the first over. Then got runs and then the seamers did well. For Shami to comeback the way he has, shows the mindset,” he said.

Ravindra Jadeja Knows His Role: Rohit Sharma

Commending Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with a fifer and became India’s first spinner to have a five-wicket haul to his name in a world cup, Rohit said that today was a demonstration of how pivotal the spinner is for the team.

“Jadeja has been very good for us. Playing in every format over the years. Today was a classical case as to what Jadeja is for us. Came out at the death and scored vital runs. Then picked up wickets. He knows his role and knows the expectations from him,” he said.

The 36-year-old also revealed that they don’t want to get over confident and that they do not fancy changing anything ahead of the important games coming up.

“Not to get too ahead of ourselves has been the talk in the dressing room. Couple of big games are coming up. We don't want to change anything,” he concluded.