India’s captain Rohit Sharma has received high praise from Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram for his outstanding batting and leadership in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against New Zealand. India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs to advance to the tournament’s final match. Sharma became only the fourth Indian captain, following Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, and MS Dhoni, to lead his team to an ODI World Cup final.

India scored a massive 397 for 4 in 50 overs, thanks to Kohli’s record-breaking 50th ODI century and outstanding innings from Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill. However, it was captain Rohit Sharma’s quick and furious 29-ball 47 that set the stage for India’s batting dominance. Later, Mohammed Shami took 7 for 57 to dismiss New Zealand for 327.

Akram praised Rohit Sharma for his unselfish leadership and his ability to provide India with fiery starts in nearly every game of the current tournament. Speaking on A Sports show ‘The Pavillion,’ the pace legend stated that people don’t mention Rohit’s name often because he hasn’t scored many centuries.

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“It was a complete performance in every aspect of the game and the skipper leading from the front,” Wasim Akram said.

“Uska naam zayad nahi aata kyunki 100 nahi kiya usne ya 150-200 nahi kiye (People don’t talk much about Rohit because he hasn’t got many hundreds) but the kind of start he provides is what we have been speaking about. He batted a strike rate of 162 and piling up 82 in 10 overs, that was the stepping stone,” Wasim Akram said.

Wasim Akram further praised the Indian batting performance, stating that this lineup can perform anywhere regardless of the conditions.

“The New Zealand bowling attack seemed pedestrian but credit has to be given to India’s quality batting. People spoke about the pitch change and all, but the way they are playing, agar tum unhein akhaade par bhi khila doge to wo utna hi score karenge (even if you make them bat in some wrestling arena in the countryside, they will score the same amount of runs). They have that kind of confidence and a leader who is leading from the front,” he said.

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Akram further lauded Rohit for playing fearlessly and not worrying much about his personal milestones.

“That’s the beauty of Rohit Sharma. Once he starts, he doesn’t stop. He’s not worried about his fifty or hundreds,” Wasim Akram concluded.