"We were very clear what we wanted to do" - Rohit Sharma

Team India registered a convincing win over arch-rivals Pakistan by 7 wickets in the 12th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosted the game and everyone got to witness a thrilling game as well.

India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Put into bat, Pakistan could only manage 191 runs before getting all out in 42.5 overs. Babar Azam scored 50 whereas Mohammad Rizwan smashed 49 but regular intervals towards the end of the innings saw them manage a below-par total. While chasing, India lost Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli for poor scores but Rohit Sharma smashed 86 whereas Shreyas Iyer scored 53* and guided India to a comfortable win with 7 wickets and nearly 20 overs in hand.

See also: “It’s crucial that we don’t worry about external factors and just look at things we can control” – Rohit Sharma

Who said what after the match?

Rohit Sharma: “The bowlers were the ones today as well who set the game up for us. I don’t think it was a 190-pitch. At one stage we were looking at 280. The way they showed grit says a lot. That is something we pride ourselves in. Whoever gets the ball does the job. We’ve got 6 individuals who can do the job with the ball. My job as a captain is important there as well. It’s to read the conditions and figure out who’s the right guy to do the job. It’s only because the guys – before entering the WC – they got a lot of runs.

We were very clear what we wanted to do. Didn’t want to be in two minds about who’s going to bat where. All in all, it’s looking good. Want to keep my fingers crossed. Don’t want to get too excited. Don’t want to get too low as well. Want to stay balanced. Keep calm and keep moving forward. Every opposition we come up against are all quality. You have to play well on that particular day, and that’s what we’re looking at.”

𝗛𝗮𝘁-𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗦 for #TeamIndia! 🙌 🙌

Jasprit Bumrah bags the Player of the Match award as India seal a clinical victory against Pakistan! 👏 👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/H8cOEm3quc#CWC23 | #INDvPAK | #MeninBlue pic.twitter.com/jSsQ81Vwa2

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 14, 2023

See also: “I am not on social media for the past 9 months” – Rohit Sharma on how he handles outside noice ahead of the clash against Pakistan

Babar Azam: “We started well. Good partnership between me and Imam. We wanted to play normal cricket (me and Rizwan). Suddenly we had a collapse and didn’t finish well. The way we started, wanted to target 280-290. With the new ball we are not upto the mark. The way Rohit is playing – he played an outstanding innings.”

Jasprit Bumrah, who won the Player of the Match said: “It felt good. Usually you try to analyse the wicket as soon as possible. We realised the wicket is on the slower side so we wanted to bowl hard lengths. We were trying to make it as difficult as possible. (On how he reads pitches quickly and understands what lengths work) Just being aware I guess. I used to ask a lot of questions when I was young and that helps me now. Now I’m experienced. In my younger days they (seniors) were used to being troubled by me sometimes (with questions), but it helps to read the wicket and try different options.

(On the slower ball to get rid of Rizwan) We were bowling in the middle overs and I saw Jaddu’s ball was turning, not too much but a little bit. I count my slower ball as a spinner’s slower ball, one of those days where it came off. (On the ball that got Shadab) Little phase where there was reverse swing, one of the occasions when the white ball was reverse swinging.”