Just a couple of days after a morale-denting defeat at the hands of ICC World Cup hosts England, India came back to winning way with a victory against Bangladesh at the same venue to secure a place in the semi-finals with a match to spare.
Indian opener Rohit Sharma’s fourth century of the tournament, which made him the leading runscorer with a tally of 544, proved the key contribution as India set their opponents a target of 315 to win. The Mumbai-born batsman revealed that he never thinks about shorter boundaries but rather focuses on piercing the opponent's fielding.
"I had a great feeling right at the start. It's a great pitch to bat on. The first game against South Africa, I had to take my time. Against England as well, the pitch was two-paced, and they used the conditions really well. There was no question of scoreboard batting first, so that's what I had to do. I was lucky (early on)...fortune favours the brave. I never think about the shorter boundaries when I bat, because my game is all about piercing the field," Sharma said at the post-match presentation.
Sharma, who scored 104 off 92 deliveries in yesterday's match, added that it was the in-form batsman's responsibility to lead the team to a big score at the ongoing global showpiece.
"Once you are set, the idea is to put pressure on the bowlers. (Four hundreds in one World Cup) Oh, I thought I just got a 100 today. My mantra is whatever has happened in the past is in the past. Those in form have to bat long and get the team to a big score. I need to focus on the next game now."
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