Vice-captain Rohit Sharma hailed his teammates’ ability to stand up and be counted whenever the going gets tough in the aftermath of India’s stunning six-wicket win against South Africa in their ICC World Cup 2019 opener in Southampton on Wednesday. ((ICC World Cup 2019: Full Coverage))

Yuzvendra Chahal ended the match with outstanding figures of 4/51 while Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped two each as India restricted the Porteas to sub-par score of 227/9 in 50 overs.

Rohit then struck his 23rd ODI ton to power the ‘Men in Blue’ home with 15 balls to spare. When India lost early wickets, Rohit dug deep and kept India in the contest with some uncharacteristic albeit steady batting. He remained unbeaten when India overhauled South Africa’s score with six wickets to spare.

“I had to cut out and play close to the body, and follow the basics properly - try and leave as many balls as possible on a pitch that is doing a bit. Building partnerships were key in this chase. It was a small total, but since there was something in it for the bowlers, it was tough and we needed partnerships,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.

“It’s the batsmen’s job to get the job done, whoever is out in the middle. We can’t rely on one or two individuals all the time. That’s been the hallmark of this team over the last two years - someone always puts their hand up and takes the responsibility to take the team across the line. I hope at some stage someone will put their hand up and take that challenge,” he added.

India will next take on defending champions Australia in their second group stage match at the iconic Oval on Sunday. As for Australia, they will be playing their third match of the tournament after taking on Afghanistan and Windies in their opening two contests.

First Published: Jun 06, 2019 16:26 IST