Rohit Sharma’s second century of the World Cup 2019 helped India maintain their unbeaten record with an emphatic victory over the arch-rivals Pakistan in Manchester on Sunday.
Rohit smashed 140 off 113 balls as India posted 336/5 at the Old Trafford, with contributions also coming from captain Virat Kohli (77) and opener KL Rahul (57).
In reply, Fakhar Zaman scored his first fifty of the tournament but India nevertheless clinched a routine win with Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar sharing six wickets. India’s 89-run DLS win sees them climb to the second position in the points table – behind defending champions Australia – while Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are hanging by a thread.
A splendid 140 from Rohit Sharma, which came off just 113 balls, guided India to their seventh straight victory over Pakistan in World Cup cricket 🔥
The Hit-Man is our @Oppo Shotmaker for India v Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/CIDOxS7bo3
— ICC (@ICC) June 17, 2019
At the post-match press conference, ‘Man of the Match’ Rohit Sharma was asked by a reporter as to what suggestion he would give as a colleague to the Pakistani batsmen, which according to the former are undergoing a period of crisis.
Rohit smiled and quipped that he would be able to suggest only after he becomes the Pakistan team coach.
“Agar main Pakistan ka coach bana to bilkul bataunga, abhi to… kya bataunga! (If I become the coach of Pakistan then surely I will tell you. What can I say now),” replied Rohit prompting the whole room to burst into laughter.
Q: How do you suggest Pakistan batsmen come out of the current crisis?
Rohit: pic.twitter.com/5cPdElM5rA
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 17, 2019
India will now take on Afghanistan in their next fixture of the ongoing World Cup on June 22 in Southampton.