SAM MORSHEAD AT OLD TRAFFORD: Sharma goes into the game at Old Trafford looking for his sixth century of a remarkable campaign, during which he has been busy re-writing the record books
Virat Kohli has identified Rohit Sharma as the best one-day international player on the planet ahead of India’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
Sharma goes into the game at Old Trafford looking for his sixth century of a remarkable campaign, during which he has been busy re-writing the record books.
No one has managed as many centuries in a single tournament - the previous best was the four struck by Kumar Sangakkara in 2011 - and just 27 more runs against the Blackcaps on Tuesday will take him past Sachin Tendulkar on the list of biggest individual hauls in the competition’s history.
“I hope he gets two more so we can win two more games. It’s an outstanding achievement,” Kohli said as he addressed the media in Manchester.
“I’ve never seen anyone get five hundreds in a tournament, and the World Cup is even more pressure. He deserves all the credit. According to me, at the moment he is the top ODI player in the world.”
Virat Kohli says Rohit Sharma is the world's best ODI player
By comparison, Kohli is on something of a lean streak.
Although the India skipper has accumulated 442 runs, with five half-centuries, he has yet to reach three figures. In fact, his 10-innings run without a hundred is his most ‘barren’ for two years. Should India reach the final and Kohli end the tournament without a century, it will equate to his longest stretch without an ODI ton since 2015.
Not that he is particularly concerned.
“It’s been a different kind of role I’ve had to play in this World Cup and as the captain of the team I’ve been open to playing whatever role the team wants me to,” he said.
“It’s great Rohit has been scoring consistently, which means that coming in later in the innings you have to control the middle overs and letting guys like Hardik (Pandya), Kedar (Yadav), MS (Dhoni) and Rishabh (Pant) come out and express themselves.”
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Kohli has a point. While he has not hit a one-day hundred since March 8 - against Australia in Ranchi - he still averages 52.11 in that time, which is testament to his remarkable consistency.
“I understand roles can vary a lot in one-day cricket, depending on the time you come into bat,” he said.
“Personal milestones honestly is something no one ever focuses on. Rohit said the same the other day, he is only trying to do his best for the team. In that process, special things happen. That’s something I’ve always believed in my career. I could never have thought I’d be able to get the number of hundreds I have, the focus has always been on the team.”
In the unthinkable situation that Sharma fails - in a curious quirk of fate he has just two ODI scores below 50 since that Ranchi match in which Kohli scored his most recent century - his skipper is ready to carry the baton.
Kohli addresses the media in Manchester
This will be particularly important should India be chasing, at a ground which has heavily favoured sides batting first at this World Cup - five wins out of five.
The record ODI chase at the Manchester venue, meanwhile, is 286. If New Zealand bat first, and Kane Williamson bats long, there is every chance life could get very tricky indeed for India.
Kohli, though, says it will all come down to which team handles pressure the best, regardless of whether they are setting or chasing.
“You make two bad decisions while you’re chasing and the game goes away from you too far to pull it back. I assume that’s going to be the case. I understand, having been in so many chases, that the pressure can be very high if you don’t go with the pace of the game.
“We’re not worried about the toss. It’s an uncontrollable, you can’t really predict what’s going to happen at the toss and we have to be prepared both ways. We’re quite open to do that.
“If it is a factor, it is a factor. We can’t say that if we lose the toss we have no hope, we should believe in ourselves enough as a side to overcome any kind of situations. I think all teams prepare in that manner.
“It’s a stat which I think is connected to pressure on the pitch.”
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Posted by Ramsay Caffull on 10/07/2019 at 15:32
Mr Kholi was right! Whoever handles the pressure best will win the game. A great one day game played over two days! Magnificent by New Zealand today. Great people, the Indian supporters, but there are too many of them and they make too much noise, so it may be a little quieter at the final.
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