World Cup 2023: Backed my natural game on batting-friendly 'Kotla', remarks Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma stated that backing his natural game worked in the World Cup clash against Afghanistan as his seventh ODI World Cup hundred guided India to seventh World Cup win.

New Delhi: India skipper Rohit Sharma, who blazed his way to 131, on Wednesday, said that the track at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was good to bat on and he backed his natural game. Courtesy Rohit's blitzkrieg at the 'Kotla', India made a mockery of the 283-run target and chased it with 15 overs to spare against Afghanistan with eight wickets in hand. India is thus unbeaten in the tournament, having defeated Australia in the first game at Chennai.

"It was a good pitch to bat on, just backed myself to play my natural game. I knew once I got my eye in, the wicket was going to get easier for me. Something that I have been working on from a long time. It's a special feeling to get a World Cup hundred. Really happy with that," Rohit said in the post-match presentation while receiving Player of the Match award.

"(I) don't want to think too much, I don't want to lose my focus. You need to make such things count. You gotta make it big," he said about scoring seven centuries in three World Cups.

Rohit Sharma also said that it was a good win for his team after they trounced Afghanistan by eight wickets in their second league match at the Arun Jaitley stadium here on Wednesday.

"(It) was a good win for us. (It is) important to get that momentum at the start of the tournament. It is about absorbing pressure and taking the right decision on the field. There will be a spell from the opposition where you will have to absorb pressure. Leading up to the tournament we had played such games," he added.

"You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with bat and guys who can absorb like the last game," he added.