Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has praised Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, for leading the team from the front in their match against defending champions England on Sunday. Despite a tricky wicket in Lucknow, the 36-year-old batted brilliantly to help India post a challenging total in the game.
Team India celebrated a resounding victory over England at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. The triumph was due to the stellar performance of Rohit Sharma, who not only captained the Indian team but also won the Player of the Match award for his impressive score of 87 runs off 101 balls, which eventually helped the Men in Blue to win the game by a margin of 100 runs.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Former England captain Michael Vaughan praised Rohit Sharma for his impressive performance on a challenging wicket and was particularly impressed with Sharma’s ability to curb his natural instinct to be aggressive in the game, and instead, adopt a more restrained approach, in line with the test match template.
“The captain set the foundation. India were in a precarious position at 30 for 3 and were under pressure. He got together with KL Rahul. Rohit’s mindset is to be aggressive, be positive, try and hit the boundaries, but he realised that he had to hang in there and play at a Test match tempo with Rahul,” Michael Vaughan said.
Despite missing out on his eighth ODI World Cup hundred, Rohit Sharma still managed to score an excellent 87 off 101 balls on a tricky pitch. The Indian team struggled initially in the game, losing their first three wickets quickly. However, Sharma adjusted to the conditions well and unfortunately, he miscued a shot and was caught at deep mid-wicket.
Rohit Sharma Always Had That Boundary Option In Him – Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan also commended Rohit Sharma’s ability to maintain an aggressive stance while displaying restraint when necessary. Vaughan noted that Sharma always kept the option of hitting a boundary at the back of his mind, which was clear in his shot off Liam Livingstone.
“He always had that at the back of his mind that he could find the boundary. He played a beautiful shot off Liam Livingstone, who just spun one earlier. So, he always had that boundary option in him but it was a wonderful captain’s knock because his team was under a little bit of pressure,” Michael Vaughan added.
Team India extended their remarkable 2023 World Cup run by crushing the reigning champions, England, by a hundred runs. With six victories in as many games, the victory has put the Men in Blue at the top of the points table, and the Rohit Sharma-led side would be keen to put a fine performance going forward to perform to their best towards the business end of the marquee event.