The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team maintained their all-win record at the Cricket World Cup intact is some fashion against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. With a 302-run win, India are the first team to enter the semi-final of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Against Sri Lanka on Thursday, India first notched a huge total of 357/8. That was just the first half of a blockbuster performance as the bowlers then came to the party. It was a terrific display to say the least as Sri Lanka were dismissed for mere 55.
Everything fell in the right place. "I am very happy that we have officially qualified now (for the semis). When we started off in Chennai, this was our goal – to qualify first for the semis and obviously in the final," said Rohit during the post-match presentation.
"The way we approached these seven games, it was quite clinical. Everyone put in the effort and a lot of individuals have put their hand up."
Another important aspect was the DRS calls, which Rohit Sharma touched upon. There were two DRS calls against Sri Lanka where KL Rahul was spot on. On the first occasion, KL Rahul ruled against taking a DRS of a LBW call and he was right. The wicketkeeper-batter again proved to be right when off Mohammed Shami's bowling, he was convinced that Dushmantha Chameera had nicked the ball that he caught. That decision was also right.
Rohit Sharma mentioned in post-match chat that he has left the DRS calls to the wicketkeeper and the bowlers. "I have left it to the bowler and the keeper (whether or not to take a review) to make that decision for me, and I gotta find the individuals I can trust and I know it can go the other way as well. We got one right and one wrong today," he said.
Rohit Sharm was also happy with Shreyas Iyer returning to form with a solid 82 off 56 balls. "That's the kind of template you need to have when you want to score that many runs, and 350 on any pitch is a very good score and a lot of credit to the batting unit for taking us to that score," he said.
"Shreyas is a very strong (in his mind) lad and he went there and did what he is exactly known for and that is what we expect from him. Shreyas showed that he is ready to take the challenge that is in front of him."
Rohit was a satisfied man with his bowlers dominating in all conditions.
"Siraj is a quality bowler and if he does that with new ball things look different for us. He has got a lot of skills when he is operating with the new ball.
“To put in a performance back-to-back against England and today (against SL), shows the quality of the seamers and if there is something in the conditions, they are quite lethal. I hope they continue the same way,” he added.