India's captain, Rohit Sharma, played a blitzkrieg of an innings, scoring a rapid 86 off just 63 balls, to lead his team to a convincing 7-wicket victory over their arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket ODI World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, October 14.
Following an exceptional bowling performance by the Indian team, Sharma took it upon himself to set the pace, capitalising on Pakistan's short-pitched deliveries. Sharma's explosive innings included 6 sixes and 6 boundaries, and by the time he was dismissed in the 22nd over, India had already reached 156 runs. Post-match, Team India's vice-captain, Hardik Pandya, took the role of the anchor for the BCCI media team and engaged in a chat with Rohit Sharma about his remarkable batting display. Sharma, modestly acknowledging the achievement, stated that it was a great feeling to win a game like this.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to their social media handle of X (formerly Twitter) to let the fans know about Hardik Pandya taking the role of an anchor and stated, “What happens when you mic-up vice-captain Hardik Pandya 🎙️🗣️😃
Hardik turns anchor for BCCI TV and takes us into the confines of the #TeamIndia dressing room after the epic #INDvPAK encounter 🇮🇳
You don't want to miss this one!”
However, Hardik Pandya swiftly took the conversation toward Rohit's batting, playfully remarking, "It felt like you were batting in PlayStation."
In response, Sharma shared that he had been striving to bat aggressively for the past two years, especially given the favourable pitch conditions. He mentioned that while he missed out on a century, he no longer approaches his innings with a milestone-focused mindset, saying, “I have been trying to bat like that since the last 2 years because the wickets are so good that I want to play my shots. I know that I missed out on a century, but I do not come with that mindset anymore".
Hardik Pandya acknowledged Rohit's exceptional skills and playfully commended him, saying, "I'll tell you honestly. We feel sad when you hit us for four, and then I see a match like this, and I tell myself that don't worry, you had bowled fine."
India currently sits at the top of the table and are set to play against Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune in the 17th match of this edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.