‘He has been doing it for us for years: Indian skipper Rohit hails Virat for match-winning 84 in CT 2025 semis

DUBAI: Following his side’s win over Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinals, Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed happiness with star India batter Virat Kohli’s knock and said overall, the team was clinical with the bat.

Virat’s chase masterclass once again grabbed the spotlight as his perfectly-calculated knock of 84 runs guided India to a four-wicket win over Australia, lifting them from 43/2 to a successful run chase of 265 runs, which was proving to be tricky initially. Once again, the 36-year-old made a tough run-chase look like a cakewalk and re-wrote several records in the process.

Speaking after the match in the post-match presentation, skipper Rohit spoke about Virat’s knocks, his partnership with Shreyas Iyer and finishing by all-rounder Hardik Pandya, “He has done it for us for so many years. We were very calm. We wanted that big stand which Shreyas and Virat had. Then the shots by Hardik in the end were very important.”

On the thrilling run-chase that was completed with 11 balls left, Rohit said, “Till the last ball is bowled, nothing is certain. Halfway through the game, we felt it was a reasonable score, and we have to bat really, really well. I thought we were very clinical with the bat. We were very calm and composed. The wicket looked better, and that has been the nature of the surfaces. The one which played today was slightly better. We just want to play good cricket and not read too much into what the pitch is doing.”

The skipper also expressed his happiness with the team combination, saying that they wanted to have six bowling options and batting till number eight position.

“This is something we discussed while making the squad. Credit to everyone involved. When you have six bowling options, you can choose from any you want,” he added.

Speaking about playing the finals, Rohit said that when you play the title clash, the teams want all their players in fine form and the team’s current form gives them confidence.

“We will not think too much about it. When the time comes, we will think about it. I also want the guys to relax,” he concluded.

Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. After an early wicket of Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (39 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) had a 50-run stand with Steve Smith. Smith carried on, with half-century stands against Marnus Labuschagne (29 in 36 balls, with two fours and a six) and Alex Carey (61 in 57 balls, with eight fours and a six). Carey was there till 48th over, untill a fine direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended his knock.

Australia was skittled out for 264 in 49.3 overs.

Shami (3/48) was the top bowler for India, while Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/40) also unleashed a spin web. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took a wicket each.

During the run chase, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (28 in 29 balls, with three fours and a six) and Shubman Gill (8) early and were reduced to 43/2. From then on, a 91-run partnership between Virat and Shreyas Iyer (45 in 62 balls, with three fours) brought India back into the game. Virat also had a brief 44-run stand with Axar Patel (27 in 30 balls, with a four and six) and a 47-run stand with KL Rahul (42* in 34 balls, with two fours and two sixes).

Hardik delivered a brief and fiery cameo, scoring 28 in 24 balls, with a four and three sixes, helping India seal a win. India finished at 267/6 in 48.1 overs.

Nathan Ellis (2/48) and Adam Zampa (2/60) were the top bowlers for Australia. (ANI)