Rohit Sharma Heaps High Praise On Hardik Pandya-Suryakumar Yadav After India’s Win Over Afghanistan

Barbados: Rohit Sharma admitted the partnership between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav proved crucial as India started their Super 8 campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a 47-run win over Afghanistan on Thursday. Opting to bat first, India were in a spot of bother after losing four wickets for 90 runs in the 11th over. That’s where both Suryakumar and Hardik came together as the duo put on 60 runs for the fifth wicket that propelled the Men in Blue to 181/7.

“The last two years we’ve played T20s here, so we understand the conditions and planned accordingly,” Rohit said after the game. “Everyone came in and did their job, that’s critical and we dwell on it. SKY and Hardik’s partnership was critical at that point, we needed someone to bat deep which they did,” he added.

In reply, the Indian bowlers were on the money right from the start as the opposition lost three wickets in the powerplay. Not to mention, Jasprit Bumrah was the most economical bowler with figures of 4-0-7-3. Heaping high praise on Bumrah, Rohit said, “We adapted well and got 180, which was a great effort from the batters. We had class bowlers who defended it perfectly.

“We know Bumrah’s class and what he can do. Important for us to use him smartly regardless of conditions. He’s willing to responsibility and he’s been doing it for years,” added the Indian skipper. Besides Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh took 3/36 while Kuldeep Yadav took 2/32.

Earlier, Virat Kohli (24 off 24) got into the double digits for the first time in this tournament but was dismissed just when he was getting set. Rashid Khan (3/26), who had not picked up a wicket against India prior to this game, struck in his first three overs to put pressure on the opposition.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (8) tried to push the scoring rate in third over from Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/33) but was caught at mid-on after finding the toe end of his bat. India’s next Super 8 fixture against Bangladesh will take place in in Antigua on Saturday