T20 World Cup 2021: "We wanted to get off to a good start" - Rohit Sharma on India's approach against Afghanistan

Team India vice-captain Rohit Sharma talked about India's plan against Afghanistan on Wednesday at the T20 World Cup 2021. He stressed that the plan was to press the fifth gear right from the start in the must-win game.

Asked to bat first again, Indian openers Rohit and KL Rahul put up a brilliant 140-run stand to set the platform for the batters to follow. Rohit chipped in with 74 runs while Rahul scored 69 runs to help the men in blues get back into the mojo after two humiliating defeats.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma said:

"(On approach) That was the idea. We wanted to get off to a good start. There was a conscious effort to lay out a platform for the batters to come. Exceptional from KL as well at the other end. It was a crucial partnership. Afghanistan have batted first before so we were prepared to field first because that was the trend. Getting to a respectable total was very important."

A good start by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma gave India the luxury of promoting Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya in the batting order. The move paid dividends, as Virat Kohli & Co mustered 210 runs. This proved too much for Afghanistan, who could only manage 144 runs.

The 34-year-old top-order batsman asserted that he is ready to go after the bowlers if the team needs him to.

"Today it was necessary to get off to a good start. It is not something I do naturally but I am ready to do whatever the team wants," Rohit Sharma added.

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"We knew that run rate could come into play" - Rohit Sharma

With their fate hanging by a thread, India need to win all their remaining matches. Moreover they need to win by a good margin to give themselves the best chance of progressing through to the top four. Rohit Sharma admitted that the net run rate factor was always there in the back of the mind.

"Before this game, we knew that run rate could come into play and we did a good job today," Rohit Sharma concluded.

India will lock horns with Scotland in their penultimate group game on Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.