Virat Kohli said Rohit Sharma's century against South Africa in India's opening ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match at Southampton on Thursday was laced with maturity. Kohli said Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 122 was "perfect" for the team in a low-scoring contest that India won by six wickets and 15 balls remaining. Kohli was all praise for his spinners, who took five South African wickets to turn the game India's way. India play Australia next on June 9.
(Video courtesy: ICC)
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(Video courtesy: ICC)
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi Virat, just the first game but have you ticked all the boxes?
00:11 I said in the post-match I think it was a very professional effort from us.
00:16 It was a low scoring game, not the highest of totals you will see in one day cricket
00:21 nowadays but that was because of the way the pitch was throughout the course of the game
00:25 and I think from that point of view we were very professional with the new ball in the
00:30 middle over, spinners picking up five wickets between them.
00:34 Jaspreet was outstanding, Bhuvi finished well.
00:36 So I think overall we are pretty happy with how we played.
00:40 Starting off well is always an important thing and we got together nicely as a team in the
00:46 first half on the field.
00:47 It is very important to create that energy and we were able to do that in the first ten
00:51 and from there we really built the game nicely and finished it off in a professional manner.
00:56 Virat, I wanted to know, you have seen from the opposite end Rohit scores so many hundreds,
01:03 different kinds of hundreds.
01:04 Where do you rate this hundred and the quality of innings and how he paced?
01:11 The kind of player he is, he had to curb a lot of his natural flair.
01:14 So how do you rate this innings and what are the qualities you saw in this?
01:18 I think in my opinion this is by far his best ODI innings because of the kind of pressure
01:25 the first game brings from a World Cup point of view.
01:28 And then I know as a batsman when you go in and a few balls bounce like that, it is not
01:34 easy to gather yourself again and play in a calm manner.
01:38 A lot of times batsmen tend to hit their way out of the situation but he was very composed.
01:44 He has played so many games, we expect a lot of maturity and a lot of responsibility from
01:51 someone like him.
01:52 But in my opinion of all the brilliant innings I have seen him play, I think this for me
01:57 was the top of the pile because of the way he compiled his innings and at no stage did
02:03 we feel like or he felt like he is going to throw it away.
02:06 So I think controlling the game so beautifully from one end and allowing the others to just
02:11 play themselves and string in small little partnerships, looking at the fact that they
02:15 are only chasing 228, he played the perfect innings for that kind of a situation on that
02:21 kind of a wicket against a bowling attack that was threatening to pick up wickets at
02:25 any stage.
02:26 So in my opinion, by far his best knock.
02:31 Last year in South Africa both the wrist spinners did really well against them.
02:35 So how much of that was a factor in picking them for this game and particularly Chahal
02:40 ahead of Jadeja who also performed really well today?
02:44 Massive factor.
02:45 We spoke about the fact that last time we played them, they were not that confident
02:50 against our spinners.
02:53 What we experienced was they were not able to rotate strikes so well.
02:55 They were trying to hit their way out of a situation which for a captain any day I would
02:59 love batsmen trying to hit boundaries to get out of trouble rather than rotating strike
03:03 because the risk factor is high.
03:05 So I think the spinners together also understood and realised that that is the scenario and
03:12 they bowled accordingly.
03:13 I think Kuldeep bowled really well.
03:15 He controlled the game really well from one end but I think Chahal was outstanding the
03:18 way he mixed his pace.
03:21 The ball wasn't turning so much but even with a little bit of turn and help from the
03:25 pitch what he was able to bring out of the wicket was truly brilliant to see and breaking
03:32 that crucial partnership and picking two wickets in an over was I think a game changing moment
03:37 for us.
03:39 So yeah both of them were brilliant in the middle overs.
03:46 Again, the first match of the World Cup, everyone knows the pressure situation.
04:10 Everyone has expectations.
04:16 I thought the expectation was different.
04:25 But Chahal's change in the game in the middle overs, understanding that it is important
04:31 to take wickets in the middle overs even after two wickets, whatever the graphs have changed,
04:36 I think it is a big change in the game.
04:41 I think it is a big change in the game.
04:46 I think it is a big change in the game.
04:51 I think it is a big change in the game.
04:54 I think it is a big change in the game.
04:57 I think it is a big change in the game.
05:00 I think it is a big change in the game.
05:03 I think thinking power is very different from others.
05:06 I think his mental strength, his belief is his biggest strength.
05:13 I think his mental strength, his belief is his biggest strength.
05:16 I think his mental strength, his belief is his biggest strength.
05:19 He has not been afraid of anyone, he has not tried to stop the run.
05:22 He has not been afraid of anyone, he has not tried to stop the run.
05:25 He just wants wickets.
05:26 I think that has been his biggest strength.
05:28 He just wants wickets.
05:29 He just wants wickets.
05:30 He just wants wickets.
05:31 Virat, in Australia you had spoken about Bumrah's progression as a test bowler.
05:37 All through the year, last year was about him as a test bowler.
05:40 How easy or tough is it, making that progression from ODIs to tests,
05:45 to maintain what you had in ODIs?
05:47 Do you think his experience in tests last year helped him become the all-rounder,
05:51 all-format pace bowler that he is today?
05:53 Success in test cricket is always something that gives you immense...
05:59 If you look at Shammi, Bhuvi, these guys are absolutely sure now of what they want to do in test cricket.
06:05 And Bumrah's one year in test cricket, I think is a difference in his mindset.
06:10 He believes that the length ball is something that he can nick people off with.
06:14 Whether it's a flat pitch, whether it's assisting bowlers or not,
06:17 he can nick you off on any wicket and he has that belief now.
06:20 Which, if as a batsman I know a bowler has that kind of belief,
06:23 he's not going to do anything different to me.
06:26 He's just going to bowl consistently and still can get me out with good balls.
06:30 So, as I said, the way he's bowling right now, it's so, so good to see.
06:35 Because when you see a batsman literally clueless against him,
06:40 and he's actually rushing people.
06:42 I mean, to be honest, I haven't seen Hashim get out like that in one-day cricket.
06:46 He's been so dominant.
06:47 He might play shots and get out, but to get guys out like that, just rushing them a bit,
06:52 I think it's a great thing and it's a testimony to his hard work.
06:56 He's very, very disciplined.
06:57 He's working really hard at practice, in the gym, with his diet, with his rest.
07:02 He understands that this is his time and he's making the most of it.
07:06 So, hats off. He's brilliant.
07:08 He has the right attitude towards the game and he's going to be a massive factor for us here.
07:13 You know, as a batsman, when you face Bumrah in the nets, what kind of problems does he pose?
07:18 I mean, does he make you unsure of your footwork?
07:20 What kind of problems does a batsman face?
07:23 Well, one thing you know with facing Jasprit is that you have to play good cricketing shots against him.
07:31 And you have to back your technique against him.
07:34 Because if you're hesitant, even a little bit, he senses that and then he's all over you.
07:39 I mean, if he senses someone's not enjoying the short ball in the nets,
07:42 he'll make sure that, you know, that guy gets it in that session.
07:46 So, what you see him bowling in the match,
07:48 he bowls exactly like that to us in the nets.
07:50 He doesn't care who's standing in front of him.
07:52 He will bounce people. He will try to get people bowled.
07:55 He will york people with the new ball.
07:57 And that's the reason for his consistency.
07:59 He doesn't change his game just because he's in nets compared to game.
08:03 He goes in with match intensity.
08:04 He'll do short and sharp.
08:06 But those 15 minutes, you have to make sure that you're on top of your game.
08:09 Otherwise, you know, it can be trouble.
08:11 So, he, I mean, he keeps all the batsmen really, really focused on what they need to do,
08:17 which is a back and forth thing.
08:18 I mean, for a batsman, it's beautiful to face a guy like that who bowls with match intensity
08:22 and he's looking to get you out.
08:23 So, when you play well against him, you walk out with more confidence in today's day.
08:28 So, I think he's, as I said, he's just brilliant the way he's progressed
08:32 and hopefully he can keep going.
08:34 Virat, we had to wait a little bit to play the match.
08:38 And today we got to bowl 50 overs, 48 overs to bat,
08:42 6 overs to bowl, 6 bowlers, Mahi got to bat.
08:46 So, is it good?
08:47 Because everyone has a nerve to bat, to bowl.
08:51 So, was this match good?
08:53 It was very good.
08:54 I think it was a very balanced game for us.
08:56 We started well, we started well in the field, we started well with the ball.
09:00 In the first 10 overs, you need wickets, you get 2 wickets.
09:03 In the middle overs, you need wickets, you get 5 there.
09:06 So, in the death overs, again 2 breakthroughs from Bhuvi.
09:11 So, I think from that point of view, we had a complete performance in the first half.
09:15 Then in batting, we had a template to make 100 out of the top 3.
09:19 The rest of the partnerships were around that player.
09:22 So, that happened. Rohit's innings were amazing.
09:24 There were partnerships around him.
09:26 KL looked good when he was playing.
09:28 MS looked in very good form.
09:31 As Hardik finished, we want him to stay in such a zone
09:34 that he can play game-changing innings regularly for the team.
09:38 So, I think from that point of view, we had a very complete performance.
09:43 You can say it was a bit slow because the pitch was such that we couldn't play expressive cricket like we do.
09:50 But I think we showed our maturity, our experience.
09:54 We played so many matches, so how can we play in this condition?
09:57 So, we are actually very satisfied.
09:59 If it was a game of 340-330, you can't measure whether you showed composure or not.
10:05 But here we got tested through and through.
10:07 And winning such a match, being like this in the first match, I think the team will get a lot of confidence from that.
10:12 I think we will win the game.
10:13 [Music]