ICC World Cup 2023: Afghanistan knock will boost Rohit’s confidence v Pak

Now, when a batsman has such strengths on the off and on-side, unless you’re as a metronomic bowler like Josh Hazlewood or Shaheen Shah Afridi, life is going to be tough for you

For me, Afghanistan are one of the most talented sides in the world, a personal favourite. They also have a lot of enthusiasm. But what they lack is some astute captaincy. 

On Wednesday, they were defending a way below-par score of 273, but I thought they should have used their spinners more in the first 10 to 15 overs, because the only way you are going to win such a game is by taking wickets.

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Great technique

However, that might have not made any difference, because Rohit Sharma was at his rampaging best. And when he is in this mood, there is very little that the opposition can do, especially in white-ball cricket. Let’s dive into a couple of nuances about Rohit’s batsmanship. His hands on the grip are a little splayed and spread and as my great coach Hanumant Singh would say, the bat has to be an extension of your hands. Rohit completely embodies that. The second big strength which he has is his balance at the point of delivery. That balance and that still head position allows him to play in the wide arc from point to mid-off and from fine leg to midwicket.

Now, when a batsman has such strengths on the off and on-side, unless you’re as a metronomic bowler like Josh Hazlewood or Shaheen Shah Afridi, life is going to be tough for you. 

Rohit hit boundaries at will, and when he’s in such form, even a 370-380-run target would have been easily got. 

Crucial game time for Iyer

What this actually does for India as they go into their next crucial encounter against Pakistan is that it shows that their captain is in prime form. Now, that is extremely important, and I feel that Rohit will come out playing very, very aggressively against Pakistan. This will be the tone he will take for the rest of the tournament as well. A sideshow of Wednesday’s game was a small knock by Shreyas Iyer, a confident innings, and that puts India in a slightly more comfortable frame of mind, knowing that their No. 4 also has got a few runs to his credit. So, all in all, a great win by India, an absolute demolition act and they now go into the next game in a very positive frame of mind. And if they win against Pakistan, they become the most feared team in this tournament.

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