World Cup 2019: Rohit is the best ODI player around right now, says skipper Kohli

Rohit’s 104 off 92 balls in the 28-run win over Bangladesh guided India to the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday and in the process he also equalled Kumar Sangakkara’s record of scoring most tons in a World Cup edition.

Rohit Sharma made a match-winning hundred against Bangladesh.

India captain Virat Kohli has described Rohit Sharma as the best One-Day player in international cricket right now after his deputy scored a record-equalling fourth century in a single edition of the World Cup.

Rohit’s 104 off 92 balls in the 28-run win over Bangladesh guided India to the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday and in the process he also equalled Kumar Sangakkara’s record of scoring most tons in a World Cup edition.

He is currently the highest run-getter in the ongoing mega-event with 544 runs from seven innings, including four centuries and one fifty.

“I have been watching it for years now. He’s (Rohit) the best One-day player around and we are so delighted to see him. When he plays like that, everybody is happy to see him strike this so well,” Kohli about his deputy at the post match presentation ceremony.

The other architect of India’s win was pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who, with his toe-crushing yorkers, derailed Bangladesh’s chase.

“His overs were always going to be crucial, so that’s why we stopped him after four initially,” said Kohli.

“He’s a world-class bowler and he just knows what he’s up against. We can look to capitalise on situations where we are in a position to score those extra 30 runs. Very happy with the way the team has played so far.”

India became the second team after title holders Australia to enter the the semifinals of the 50-over showpiece.

“It’s good to have qualified on the points table now. This will keep us in a good frame of mind going into the semi-finals,” Kohli said.

Against Bangladesh, India went in with only five bowlers and Kohli said it was a gamble which they took keeping in mind the size of the ground and combination of the team.

“(Five bowlers) Look, we experienced that Hardik (Pandya) when put under pressure has come back really well. He’s really looking forward to do stuff for the team. He has a gut feel of what the batsman is looking to do.

“I know five bowlers was a gamble, but it was keeping in mind the ground dimensions. We wanted to play the perfect combination for the small boundary,” the skipper explained.