Talismanic Rohit leads team’s blemish-free campaign by example

Lucknow, October 30

Virat Kohli remains the cynosure of all eyes wherever and whenever India play but skipper Rohit Sharma has quietly grown into the team’s undisputed talisman leading their blemish-free campaign in the home World Cup.

No other captain in the 50-over showpiece tournament has shaped the destiny of his team like Rohit has done to keep India atop the points table, and on the verge of semifinals, after six wins in a row.

14 Wickets taken by Jasprit Bumrah — the second-most in the tournament behind Australia’s Adam Zampa (16)

His captaincy has been spot on so far — be it recognising their strength in chasing targets rather than setting it, or sticking to a horses-for-courses mantra while picking the playing XI, or get the best out of his bowlers. Equally importantly, he has often set the tone of their innings with the bat and is India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament having overtaken Kohli.

India have been so dominant that they haven’t been tested yet. Last night, with a 230 total was perhaps the first time, but it was a tough wicket and it showed that. India, at home, are always tough to beat.

— Graeme Smith, Former SA Skipper

The 36-year-old, widely admired for his lazy elegance, fell for a duck against Australia in their tournament opener but has since been dominating the powerplay overs to put India in charge.

After pulling off five successful chases in a row, India were tested on Sunday when England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and asked them to bat first on a tricky surface.

For a change, India could not make the most of the powerplay, managing 35/2 in the first 10 overs, and were 40/3 in the 12th over with Kohli among the dismissed batters.

8.44 Mohammed Shami’s average is the best among the bowlers in the tournament. The pacer has taken 9 wickets in two matches. Bumrah’s average (15.07) is second-best

That they still managed a match-winning total of 229/9 was largely due to Rohit’s masterly 87 in the low-scoring contest in which no other batsman managed a half-century. Known for destroying rival attacks, Rohit proved he could rebuild an innings as well as he combined in a 91-run stand with KL Rahul to resuscitate India. Rohit did not get his second hundred of the tournament but his measured knock fetched him the Player of the Match award.

“It’s just not about going and playing my shots,” the opener said after helping India clinch the bowler-dominated contest against holders England. “When you have that much experience you’ve got to use that experience and do whatever is necessary for the team, and it was at that point in time necessary for me to take the game as deep as possible…”

It is a template that has served India well in the tournament and the one they would like to repeat in the remaining three group matches.

No pointers for Bumrah, Shami

Such is the class and skill of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah that India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey doesn’t need to discuss anything technical with them. Their talk is all tactical.

Shami and Bumrah produced sizzling spells of fast bowling to help India to a 100-run victory over England. There was bit of help in the air and off the pitch and the wily duo got the best out of the surface under lights. Shami’s 10-ball burst against Ben Stokes was a sight to behold with the champion England all-rounder struggling against the Indian pacer’s fourth-stump line from around the wicket before being castled by an in-swinger.

“When you have such kind of skill-set in the team, what Shami and others bring, you really don’t need to have a discussion over it. These guys have played enough cricket and understand what is needed by the team,” Mhambrey said.

“I wish I could say this that we had a team discussion and planned for this. The quality of the bowlers we have in the team, the experience they bring to the table, it makes my job easier. It is all about man-management at this level. I don’t explain much about the technical bit but only about the tactical bit. The bottom-line is about execution. The credit goes to them,” he added. — Agencies