Rohit Sharma's heroics in India's final league game against the Netherlands in the 2023 Cricket World Cup triggered a hilarious meme fest on Twitter, now X.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
The Mumbai resident has given Team India flying starts throughout the current edition of the quadrennial event, allowing them to stamp their authority on the opposition from the outset.
Rohit Sharma, who has set the template for India's victories through his aggressive brand of cricket, was again at his explosive best against the Netherlands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium as he smashed a quickfire 61 off 54 balls.
During his whirlwind knock, Rohit Sharma struck eight boundaries and two sixes.
His twin maximums gave him two mega milestones. The Nagpur-born cricketer has now hit 60 sixes in 2023, the most in a calendar year.
Previously the record for smoking the most sixes in a calendar year was held by South African legend and Virat Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate AB de Villiers, whose tally read 58 in 2015.
Furthermore, Rohit Sharma overtook England's 2019 Cricket World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan as the captain to hit the most sixes in a single edition of the ICC World Cup.
In 2019, Eoin Morgan registered 22 sixes, while Rohit Sharma has already recorded 24 maximums in this year's World Cup.
Speaking about India vs the Netherlands encounter, Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first, and from start to finish, it became a Team India show with the bat as all their top five batters got half-centuries in the innings.
If Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill stitched a 100-run partnership for the first wicket in less than 12 overs, with the two openers making 61 off 54 and 51 off 32 balls, respectively, Virat Kohli followed them with yet another fifty in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
However, the real fireworks only after Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul joined each other in the middle. While the former bulldozed his way through to a sensational 128* off 94 deliveries, the latter raced through to the fastest hundred by an Indian in World Cup history.
KL Rahul's century against the Netherlands came in only 62 balls, taking him past Rohit Sharma's record, who reached his ton in 63 balls against Afghanistan earlier in the prestigious tournament.
Centuries from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul and fifties from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli powered India to 410/4 in their allocated 50 overs.
In reply, the Netherlands were bundled out for 250, with Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja all picking up two wickets each.
India's total domination of the Netherlands in the Karnataka capital gave them a 160-run victory and extended their winning streak in the 2023 World Cup to nine games.
The Rohit Sharma-led side is the only undefeated team in the ongoing edition of the World Cup.
“Since we started the tournament, it was all about one game at a time. We never wanted to look too far ahead. It is a long tournament, 11 games in all if we go all the way. It was important to break it down and focus on it. We focused on one game. We are playing in different venues and play accordingly and that's what we did. Very pleased at how we've played in these nine games. Very clinical from game one to today,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Different individuals have stepped up and put their hand up and done the job. Everyone wanted to take the responsibility. Playing in different venues, it was a challenge. We adapted really well. We started the tournament four games in a row chasing, and then we had to bat first and the pacers did the job along with the spinners,” the India captain added.
“The result do matter to keep the dressing room lively. We are playing in India, there will be expectation. We wanted to do the job at hand. It's one thing to talk about it but for everyone to buy into it is very important. We enjoy each other's company. We wanted to play with enjoyment on the field. We try to keep the atmosphere outside lively,” he pointed out.
Also, Rohit Sharma had his say on whether India would use a sixth bowler in the semifinals against New Zealand on Wednesday. The home side deployed Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma as bowling options against the Netherlands.
“It is something that is always in our mind. We want to create those options in the team, today we had nine options. This was the game we could have tried certain things. The seamers bowling those wide yorkers which was not needed but they did,” Rohit Sharma noted.
India would look to bury the ghosts of 2019 when they take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Mumbai later this week.
In the last World Cup in England, the Men in Blue suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Kiwis in the semis, leaving the legendary MS Dhoni in tears.
Interestingly, India has never beaten New Zealand in an ICC knockout fixture.
India's first loss to New Zealand in a knockout game in an ICC event came in 2000 when the Kiwis defeated them in the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy in Nairobi.
It was followed by defeats in the 2019 World Cup semis and the ICC Test Championship final in 2021.
But spinner Kuldeep Yadav underplayed India's poor record in the ICC knockout games, including the 2019 World Cup loss.
“The 2019 semifinals (against NZ) was four years ago. We have played a lot of bilateral series after that, so we know the conditions (in India) and so do they. Our preparation has been good and we have been able to play good cricket throughout the tournament. So, we expect to continue in the same vein in the next match as well,” Kuldeep Yadav told PTI.
Former Australia batter Matthew Hayden, a two-time World Cup winner, backed India to break their New Zealand hoodoo at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on November 15.
“Well look, India is the in-form side. They've gone on a winning run like the Australian team did in 2003 and 2007. When it comes to semi-finals and finals, obviously, it's a two-horse race across a four-horse race and obviously, India have everything covered in terms of their batting skills and bowling skills and the fielding has been outstanding. They've had great efficiency in all of those 3 departments and their bowling has been outstanding as well. There's no reason why they can't break the jinx,” Matthew Hayden said in a conversation with Star Sports.
Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri dubbed the Rohit Sharma-led team the favorites to claim their third World Cup title.
“This country is going mad. The last time they won it was 12 years ago. They have an opportunity to do it again. The way they are playing, this is probably their best chance,” Ravi Shastri said in the Club Prairie Fire podcast.
“If they miss out this time, they would probably have to wait another three World Cups for even thinking of trying to win it. The pool of players is such the 7-8 players are at their peak. This could well be their last World Cup. The way they are playing, given the conditions, they have got the team to win it,” he summed up.
Follow Us
Subscribe
