"Did a brilliant job at leading them" - Steve Harmison on Rohit Sharma's captaincy in IND vs ENG match of 2023 World Cup
Steve Harmison praised Team India skipper Rohit Sharma for his wonderful captaincy after their 100-run win over England in the 2023 World Cup match in Lucknow on Sunday.
Harmison pointed out how Rohit persisted with his fast bowlers for a long time, despite getting a couple of early wickets. Assessing the Men in Blue captain's leadership in the game, Harmison told ESPNCricinfo:
"Rohit Sharma did a brilliant job at leading them. Once they made the initial breakthrough, you could have got the spinners in early. He's only got five bowlers to go with. So, he's not thinking 40 to 50 overs. Rohit Sharma was thinking of bowing England out in 35 to 40 overs. So he didn't go to his spin bowlers and went back to his seam bowlers."
"You have to give a lot of credit there to the way Rohit Sharma captained the initial part of that game," he added.
The Indian bowlers were exceptional against England, bundling out the defending champions for just 129 runs to successfully defend a 230-run target.
During the same discussion, Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara also spoke about how Rohit Sharma has done a brilliant job as a leader throughout the ongoing ICC event.
"He (Rohit Sharma) has been brilliant," Pujara said. "Not just in this game, if you look at the way he has led the team in the entire World Cup, especially the way he brings in the seamers. Siraj hasn't started well in many games, but he is still continuing with him.
"Whenever Rohit has used Siraj in the middle-overs, he has given that breakthrough. He has been very smart with how has led the team in that middle-overs, which not many captains are able to do."
India are the only unbeaten team in the 2023 World Cup at this stage. With six wins from as many games, they are placed at the top of the points table.
"The captain before Rohit Sharma has taught so many great lessons" - Tom Moody on MS Dhoni's influence on Indian team
Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody believes that MS Dhoni's incredibly successful stint as India captain has had a role to play in the success of Rohit Sharma.
He also highlighted how Rohit has backed Mohammed Siraj, despite the bowler's underwhelming form. Moody explained:
"The captain before Rohit Sharma has taught so many great lessons and paved such a great path for any captain to follow, and that's MS Dhoni. Just the calmness under pressure, and also the way he manages his bowlers."
"Yes, Mohammed Siraj is not in the best of forms, but he has dominated in this format in the last two years," he added. "So, Rohit has got trust in him that he will recapture that form at some stage during this World Cup. So he is bringing him back to the attack during key times to try to help him find that confidence.
"He is managing things not only within the game but also managing things into the future of this tournament."
India will now take on Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, November 2.