Cricket World Cup: Behind the unbeaten march to semis, a fearless Rohit Sharma shaping the India way | Cricket-world-cup News

Soon after Rahul Dravid came on board as India’s head coach, he made a case for changing their white-ball template, especially in the ODIs. Despite enjoying favourable results in bilateral ODIs, in successive World Cups, Down Under and in the UK, India’s old-school approach of preserving wickets for the later half of the innings was found too outdated. With all the resources they had, it appeared they were batting with a hand-break on, shifting to the fifth gear only in the last 10 overs. They posted big totals, in excess of 300, but still appeared to have left some runs behind because of their cautious approach at the start.
Even as recently as the last T20 World Cup, they seldom seemed to come out of the shell. But since then, there has been a total shift in their approach. After showing glimpses of their template in the lead-up whenever a fully-fit side was available, this World Cup India have been on an encore.
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And at the forefront of this change is skipper Rohit Sharma. For someone who usually prefers to get set in the crease before exploding, the template that has helped him score three double-centuries, Rohit has become the opposite of the batsman he was.
At this World Cup, in the first powerplay alone, the India captain has had a strike rate of 130.54, which is 39.01 more than his career strike-rate of 91.53. Rohit’s strike-rate in the powerplay is nearly 20 more than that of Mitchell Marsh, who is in second spot at 111.94.
This approach of Rohit means, that even when they have been chasing, he has single-handedly ensured the game is done and dusted in the first powerplay. And even when batting first, his explosive starts mean, even in the case of pitch getting slow, the middle-order hasn’t been forced to take undue risks. India’s last game against South Africa was a classic example where despite making only 40 at the top, he set the base for Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to bat freely without worrying about run rate as the Eden Gardens surface started to take turn.
India’s batter Rohit Sharma celebrates his half century during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and England, at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (PTI Photo)
“Rohit has certainly been a leader, you know, without a doubt,” Dravid said. “He’s led example both on and off the field. Some of the starts that he’s given us, the way he’s cracked open games for us. There have been some games where it could have been tricky for us, but the fact that he’s been able to get us to those kinds of starts has literally cracked open the game. So, in the end, it’s actually looked easy, but on reflection, as a coaching staff, we’ve realised the impact his innings have had on games like that, that have made it look easy for us and certainly made it easier for the guys who followed in that department,” he added.
This start of Rohit is in complete contrast to what he did during the 2019 World Cup, where he became the first batsman to score 5 centuries in a single edition.
With plenty of holes in the middle-order, and Shikhar Dhawan missing, he went with a more cautious approach in seaming conditions. But in this edition, where swing has been hard to find for new-ball bowlers, Rohit has wasted no time to get going and has scored a staggering 31 boundaries and 16 sixes in the first powerplay alone.Most Read
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Off the 203 deliveries he has faced so far in the first powerplay at this World Cup, Rohit has scored 265 runs. This is the new-age template that in effect had made England’s approach the fearsome it was at the last edition. And this time, it isn’t surprising that India are doing it, with Rohit leading the way.

“We’ve talked about playing in a particular way. You cannot do that unless your leader really buys in and actually shows example. And it’s been terrific to seethe way Rohit’s done that. And I think his captaincy has obviously been fantastic as well. It’s been very good for a long time. He’s someone who’s certainly got the respect of the group and the team. And it’s been a pleasure to see him operate the way he has, both on and off the field, like I said. And I think he’s truly someone who’s, you know, deserves all the success that he’s been getting. And hopefully, it may continue,” Dravid said.
This template of Rohit means it has also allowed Kohli to bat the way he knows in the ODIs – without taking risks. With other stroke-makers around him, Kohlientrusted with the responsibility of batting out the overs, has gone about with any fuzz, tallying 543 runs, the most he has scored in a single edition of a World Cup. As was the case in 2015 and 2019, it is their top order that is doing all the runs this time too, but there is a total change in the way they have gone about it, which has also allowed the middle-order to flourish.