CT 2017: Kohli didn't panic, kept calm and made changes, says Rohit Sharma

India's opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 123 had wholesome praise for his skipper Virat Kohli and the important decisions that led to India's victory over Bangladesh

Rohit Sharma

With Pakistan already through, India were not going to miss out on the opportunity to challenge their arch-rivals in the Champions Trophy final, to be held at The Oval on Sunday. They played like champions to overwhelm a spirited Bangladesh by nine wickets with almost 10 overs to spare at Edgbaston yesterday to book their passage to London.

After Pakistan's stunning win over England at Cardiff on Wednesday, most Indian fans feared another upset yesterday. But those fears disappeared at the end of Bangladesh's innings.

After restricting Bangladesh to 264, the Men in Blue cruised through, with Rohit Sharma scoring a masterly century, his 11th in ODIs (123 off 129 balls, 15x4, 1x6), and producing a match-winning partnership of 178 runs with skipper Virat Kohli, who remained unconquered on 96 (78 balls 13x4).

India's Rohit Sharma celebrates his century with Virat Kohli during the Champions Trophy semi-final vs Bangladesh. Pic/Bipin Patel

However, it was not as easy as the winning margin suggests. There was a time when India were under pressure, when Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rehman were motoring away at almost six runs an over around the half-way mark, and India had a major problem on hand as the duo milked the bowling, with Hardik Pandya being taken apart (4-0-34-0).

Skipper Kohli's decision to give the ball to Kedar Jadhav proved a masterstroke as the part-time off-spinner got rid of the two to pull things back for his team. Hereon, India took control of the game and there was no looking back.

Man the match Sharma had wholesome praise for his skipper Kohli. "As a captain, Virat was brilliant. He led the team from the front. The way he handled things when the going was tough for the bowling unit, was commendable. Instead of panicking, he kept his cool and brought about changes that proved decisive. He then batted like a dream and with him at the other end, there was no pressure on me.

It was a satisfying knock, especially as it came in a winning cause. I was trying to get a big one in the last two games, but missed out, so I was quite determined today."

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