On Saturday, Rohit Sharma memes broke the internet after Pakistan suffered a catastrophic collapse against India in their World Cup match in Ahmedabad.
https://twitter.com/DankShubhum/status/1713190984081887321
The Babar Azam-led side produced a batting display that was very Pakistan-like at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat.
At 155/2, Pakistan had 300 in sight as two of its most senior batters, captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, were batting together in the middle.
As it appeared Pakistan was in control of the proceedings against the Indian bowlers, Mohammed Siraj produced a gem to dismiss Babar Azam, who fell for fifty off 58 balls.
Subsequently, the Pakistan middle order fell like nine-pins, with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the destroyers-in-chief of the Green Army's batting line-up.
Eventually, the Pakistan cricket team was dismissed for 191, with their last eight wickets adding only 37 runs on the scoreboard.
Many former cricketers, including Ravi Shastri and Harbhajan Singh, credited Rohit Sharma for Pakistan's harakiri.
Many former cricketers, including Ravi Shastri, and Harbhajan Singh, credited Rohit Sharma for Pakistan's harakiri.
The Indian skipper was decisive with his fielding positions and bowling changes, never allowing Pakistan batters to get into the groove during the game.
“Full marks to Rohit Sharma. He marshaled his resources extremely well,” Ravi Shastri said on air.
“Captaincy from Rohit Sharma has been top class. The way he has rotated bowlers on this flat wicket is amazing. Aggressive mindset, aggressive field setup. Bringing pacers (Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj) was a masterstroke,” Harbhajan Singh elaborated.
On the other hand, 1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar praised the Indian bowlers for enticing the Pakistan batters into false strokes.
“At 150 for 2, it looked like India were looking at another 100 runs on the board. What was most impressive was the persistence of India bowlers. Siraj, for example, in the over he got Babar Azam, was taken for a couple of boundaries but had the persistence to bowl that line around the off stump. Even Hardik Pandya with the wicket that he got,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“To be able to look for wickets was the most exciting part about what India has done. All five bowlers have picked up wickets. You're not just looking to restrict runs, yes, you don't want to concede runs but to be able to look for wickets despite being hit for boundaries was the reason why they've been able to restrict Pakistan to under 200 runs in 50 overs,” the batting legend added.
Before the match, Rohit Sharma underscored India's tag as the favorites despite their emphatic 7-0 win/loss record against Pakistan in ICC ODI World Cups.
“I don't think there is any disadvantage. You feel nice about playing in front of your home crowd. They get behind you no matter what the situation of the game is. My overall experience playing, not just in India, even outside India, we get massive support. So, I have so far never experienced where the crowd has gone against us or anything like that,” he told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“So, I look at this as a good advantage, big advantage. But we know that eventually it boils down to playing good cricket. And whatever it takes to win the game, you've got to do that. So yes, you can use the support, but eventually, you've got to play good cricket to win the game,” Rohit Sharma explained.
“All the guys are quite used to playing in front of big crowds. It can only work in your favour. It cannot work against you. A lot of the guys in the team love a big crowd, the cheers, the noise in the ground. So yeah, the boys really enjoy it. Anywhere we go, people turn out in huge numbers. And that is good for the team and also good for the sport in general as well,” the India captain continued.
Dealing with intense pressure in an India-Pakistan clash is a vital factor in deciding the result of the contest, and Rohit Sharma shared his views on this aspect of the game as well.
“I'm not on social media for past nine months now. Everyone [else] has their own way of dealing with it. Some people like it, some don't. But that's not my place to tell anyone how to do it. They have to work out their own way of dealing with these things,” Rohit Sharma revealed.
“Like I said many times before, in the context of it, yes, it's a massive game. But for us, what is important is, we are playing an opposition tomorrow, which will be quality. So, we've just got to come against a quality opposition and play good cricket, which we've done in the last two games. And hopefully we can again show some consistency in our performance and play a good game of cricket,” the Nagpur-born player mentioned.
“I don't think it [7-0 record against Pakistan in World Cups] is a psychological advantage. Because you have to play good cricket every day. So, it's important for us as a team that we, as I said, should not pay too much attention to what is already over. And, we should also pay attention to the fresh day, the fresh opposition,” Rohit Sharma pointed out.
“Both the teams will start evenly. I don't think there is a favorite or an underdog. Both the teams are equal before they go into the game. It's just about handling the pressure, dictating terms,” he concluded.