"I don't want to lose my focus" - Rohit Sharma on scoring record-breaking 7 hundreds in World Cup
Rohit Sharma scored a fabulous century as Team India made it two in two in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. The Men in Blue thrashed Afghanistan by eight wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday (October 11).
Chasing 273 to win, Rohit fired all cylinders from the word go to put India in the driver's seat. By the time the captain got out in the 26th over, he had scored 131 off just 84 deliveries, blasting 16 boundaries and five sixes.
The right-hander registered his seventh ODI World Cup hundred, going past Sachin Tendulkar's record. After leapfrogging the legendary batter, Rohit said that he doesn't want to lose focus on external factors.
"I am glad that I could go big today and score the hundred," Rohit Sharma said at the end of the game.
"Very happy for another World Cup hundred. I just not want to think about that stuff to be much. I know it's a long way to go ahead, and I don't want to lose my focus. Focus on what the team requires of me and then make it count."
Notably, Rohit Sharma had a dismal start to the World Cup campaign, bagging a duck in the first game against Australia in Chennai.
However, he bounced back strongly against Afghanistan, which will be a massive booster for India ahead of their next game against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday (October 14) in Ahmedabad.
"We need to come and show up on the ground pretty well" - Rohit Sharma on team's approach for Pakistan game
With two wins in as many games, Team India are second in the standings with four points. New Zealand also have four points but are ahead in the standings due to a better net run rate.
The hosts will look to continue their winning run when they square off against Pakistan, who have also won their first two games.
When asked what the team's approach will be against Babar Azam and Co., Rohit Sharma remarked that they will take to the field with the same intensity as they did against Afghanistan:
"Just as we looked into this game. It's quite crucial that we don't worry about the external factors. We need to come and show up on the ground pretty well. Every game for us, we're going to treat it like that.
"We want to focus on what we need to do on that particular day, what the pitch is like and what we need to do. It's about focusing on what we need to as players."
Team India lock horns with Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, hoping to extend their perfect 7-0 head-to-head record in the 50-over World Cup.