India head coach Ravi Shastri, ahead of the India vs New Zealand semi-final in World Cup 2019, heaped praise on India’s star batsman Rohit Sharma, saying that he is one of the greatest One-day International (ODI) batsmen and has remained consistent for the side. Rohit Sharma has been in tremendous touch in World Cup 2019 so far scoring 647 runs from eight innings. India will lock horns with New Zealand in the first semi-final of World Cup 2019 at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. The league stage match between India and New Zealand in Nottingham was abandoned due to rain.
In a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Twitter, Shastri praised Rohit and other Indian players for their brilliant performance in the tournament.
Rohit Sharma is the only batsman who has scored five centuries in a World Cup. He has broken Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara’s record (four in 2015) for scoring the most centuries in a single edition of the World Cup. Sharma has been providing a steady start to the Indian innings and he has the ability to accelerate when required.
“He is one of the greatest ODI players. Just seeing his records over the year, three double hundreds in ODI, no one has done that and he has been really consistent for India,” Shastri said.
Shastri further praised India bowlers for their spirited performance in the World Cup so far. He complimented Mohammad Shami’s bowling spell against Afghanistan where he clinched a hat-trick.
“Chahal has got a great temperament as he attacks the batsmen and looks for a wicket, that was the need of the hour. The team that improved like hell, Afghanistan. The match went down to the wire and you needed something special and Shami delivered for us,” he said.
