Rohit Sharma on Sunday said the backing of coaches and teammates helped India enforce an attacking approach in its batting order.
The Indian captain has been known to give explosive starts to India’s innings since the ODI World Cup in 2023. He put that on display on Sunday as well as his early pyrotechnics got India to 64 runs in the PowerPlay in the 252-run chase against New Zealand.
“It is not natural to me but it is something I really wanted to do. When you are trying something different you need the backing of the team and they were with me. Rahul [Dravid] bhai in the 2023 World Cup and now with Gautam [Gambhir] bhai. I have played all these years in a different style, I wanted to see if we can get results by playing differently,” Rohit said after the match.
Rohit was awarded the Player of the Match award for his 83-ball 76 that guided India to a four-wicket win.
The 37-year-old also lauded K.L Rahul whose unbeaten 33-ball 34 helped India shake off the jitters of losing wickets at regular intervals and ensured it crossed the line.
“Very solid mind, never gets overawed by the pressure around him, that’s the reason we wanted to have him in the middle phase, there’s a bit of calmness when he bats and picks the right shot to play to the situation, he gives the freedom to others to play freely like Hardik,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
On his team’s performance across the Champions Trophy 2025, where it remained unbeaten, Rohit said: “It is very nice. We played some really good cricket through the tournament, to come out and have the result our way is a great feeling, very happy with how we played this game. I want to appreciate everyone who came out and supported us. The crowd here has been magnificent, it is not our home ground but they made it our home ground.”