Veteran commentator Sanjay Manjrekar added that Rohit Sharma’s half-century in India’s 2023 World Cup clash against England was one of the greatest ODI innings as well. However, Rohit scored 87 runs off 101 balls as India set a 230-run target for England in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29. The hosts then bowled out England for 129 to register a convincing 100-run win and move up the points table as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar said: “When we talk about Rohit Sharma’s ODI batting and his greatness, we talk about the three double hundreds, and he scored a quick hundred recently as well. But according to me, this knock is one of the greatest ODI innings. There are two or three reasons for that – the pitch was slightly tricky in the afternoon, the bowling challenge was quite good, the tactics Jos Buttler used were also high quality, and India were under pressure.”

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Team India were reduced to 40/3 in 11.5 overs after they were being asked to bat first. Rohit Sharma then added 91 runs with KL Rahul (39 off 58) for the fourth wicket before Suryakumar Yadav hit a quick 47-ball 49 to take India to a defendable score as well. Sanjay Manjrekar meanwhile applauded Rohit Sharma’s strokeplay against the England spinners as well.

“You might remember a shot he played, I think off Adil Rashid’s bowling, it was an extremely small gap, and he hit a drive with power to find the boundary. Then he hit Moeen Ali over mid-off against the turn. This artistry sets Rohit Sharma apart. It’s not only Rohit, six or seven Indian players are at their peak. We talk about generation gap but nowadays there is a huge gap between India’s cricket and the other teams’ cricket,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded.