"There is real intent" - Nasser Hussain praises Team India for performance in the 2023 World Cup
Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed Team India for their intent, particularly from the top three batters, as the Blues' triumphant run continues in the 2023 World Cup.
The Men in Blue have run the table, winning all four games by a considerable margin to be second on the points table at the near halfway stage of the tournament. Skipper Rohit Sharma has been in scintillating form, with 265 runs at an average of 66.25 and a 137.30 strike rate.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has also been in impressive form, with 259 runs at a 129.50 average and 90.24 strike rate.
Speaking to Star Sports, Hussain pointed to the remarkable difference in intent compared to the T20 World Cup a year ago.
"The most important thing I like is intent. There is real intent, for a while they played a bit of timid cricket in the T20 World Cup in Australia and they lost to England in Adelaide in that semi-final. This looks like a different top three, the way Rohit, Shubman and Virat are playing are going to put a lot of top order bowlers under pressure," said Hussain.
Hussain further praised skipper Rohit Sharma for his imperious batting in white-ball cricket and his captaincy.
"I have thought for a long time, he's one of the best white-ball batters there has ever been. His record is up there with the best, he's done it in World Cups. His record against Bangladesh is magnificent, his pull shot, at one stage we showed a graphic -- he was averaging 400 in the pull shot in the last couple of years. He got out to it in the end but not before he had done a lot of damage," stated Hussain.
The former captain emphasized how Rohit rotated his bowlers despite losing Hardik Pandya in the Bangladesh clash while maintaining an attacking mindset.
"Just the way when you lose a bowler, the way you have to think about bowlers are key moments in the games. Kuldeep was bowling really well, and he realised the way Siraj has come back with those cross-seam deliveries and then he went to Siraj. He got the wicket, and then he went back to Kuldeep, Jadeja and Bumrah," said Hussain.
"He just rotated his bowlers, and as Dinesh Karthik said on commentary, it wasn't just the rotation, he was always rotating, looking to get a wicket. So, a bit like his batting where he has the attacking option, it's the same with his captaincy," he stated.
Rohit recently led India to a dominant title run in the Asia Cup and has also been one of the most successful IPL captains, with five titles.
Despite the absence of Hardik, India restricted Bangladesh to a mere 256/8 in 50 overs, a target they chased with no trouble in the 42nd over by seven wickets.
"Kohli always plays the situation" - Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain hailed superstar Virat Kohli for the ability to pace his innings to perfection during run-chases after the batter notched up his 48th century against Bangladesh.
Renowned for his ability to pull off run-chases like no other, the 34-year-old moved within one ton of Sachin Tendulkar's tally in ODIs and brought up his third World Cup century.
"Kohli always plays the situation and that's why he is brilliant in run chases. He sees the situation out there in front of him, he won't be much off the strike rate anyway because he never takes up deliveries or chews up deliveries.
"On a pitch like this if you wanted to go into another gear, if he was chasing 350, Kohli would've gone into another gear, but he was just making sure India got over the line as he often does," said Hussain.
The champion batter averages an extraordinary 90.33 with 23 centuries in successful ODI run chases.
Team India will take on the other undefeated side in the competition- New Zealand, at Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22.