IND vs SA, World Cup 2023: Rohit credits Kohli for 'batting to the situation', hails 'big match-winner' Jadeja

India skipper Rohit Sharma joined the chorus of voices congratulating Virat Kohli for his historic ton in the ICC World Cup match against South Africa on Sunday, crediting him for “batting to the situation” on what wasn’t the easiest of surfaces to bat on.

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Kohli’s unbeaten 101 off 121 deliveries, which helped him equal the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 49 ODI centuries, was the highlight of India’s solid batting performance. The Men in Blue ended up posting a score of 326/5 and would later skittle the South Africans out for a paltry 83 to collect their eighth win in as many outings in the ongoing World Cup, thus ensuring they finish on top of the table at the end of the league stage.

Kohli decided to dig deep after skipper Rohit got the Men in Blue off to a flying start, and took to the anchor’s role while the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja took the aggressive approach against the famed Proteas attack.

It was in the penultimate over of the Indian innings when Kohli collected a single off Kagiso Rabada to bring up the three-figure mark for the 49th time on his 35th birthday.

“Today was not an easy pitch, you needed someone like Kohli, who batted to the situation. Not to forget Shreyas. It’s important to let guys have freedom in the middle and what the team expects from them,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony after India’s eighth win in as many outings in the World Cup.

“You know it can’t always be done but when it does it looks good and that’s what happened with Shami. Same with Iyer, wasn’t getting the runs but he’s showed in the last two games the kind of class he has,” Rohit added.

Read | ‘Huge honour to equal my hero’s record’: Kohli on going level with Tendulkar

Rohit also praised all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (5/33), who ran through the South African batting lineup and ended up with his maiden World Cup five-for. Jadeja had earlier starred with the bat as well, smashing an unbeaten 29 in just 15 deliveries.

“Jadeja has been really good. Big match-winner. He keeps doing the job, goes under the radar but today is a classic case of what he does – score late runs and take wickets,” Rohit added.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma, meanwhile, rued leaking too many runs in the first powerplay after India skipper Rohit opted to bat.

Rohit took left-arm pacer Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi to the cleaners, smashing 40 off 24 deliveries as the Men in Blue raced to 91/1 at the end of the first powerplay. South Africa, in contrast, could only manage 35 runs during the same phase and lost three wickets along the way.

“We know the challenge, know the narrative around us while chasing. Didn’t do it any justice today. When we talk about it as a batting group, gotta be honest. The first ten overs with the ball made it a challenge. We did do quite well after that.

“Biggest challenge was taking wickets and India built big stands. The conditions are the biggest learning. Wicket played as we suspected it to play – expected it to deteriorate but we didn’t adapt well. It will be up to us to adapt our skills accordingly,” a disappointed Bavuma said after the match.