Rohit Sharma is the genuine hero of this Indian side: Nasser Hussain

Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami’s stellar performances guided Team India to a spectacular 70-run victory against New Zealand yesterday to qualify for the World Cup final. Kohli played a fine knock of 117 against the Kiwis and with this, he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time tally of 49 ODI tons . Later, Shami scalped seven wickets to bowl out the Black Caps for 327 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While Shami and Kohli hogged the limelight with their incredible show it was the Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma who played a vital role in earning a remarkable win for the hosts. Former England skipper Nasser Hussain praised Rohit for helping India by setting up a solid foundation, batting first against New Zealand.

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Rohit Sharma pulled off a blistering knock of 47 off 29 balls to earn a commendable start for India. His breezy innings comprised four boundaries and as many sixes. Rohit and Shubman Gill stitched an opening partnership of 71 before the Team India captain was dismissed by Kiwi pacer Tim Southee in the ninth over. Ex-England batter Nasser Hussain felt that Rohit was the “genuine hero” of the Indian side.

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“The headlines tomorrow will be about Kohli, about Shreyas, about Shami. But the genuine hero of this Indian side, the man who has changed the culture, is Rohit Sharma,” Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports Cricket.

“It’s one thing coming in the group stage, but can you do it again, can you play fearless cricket in a semi-final? Their skipper went out there and showed everyone, showed his dressing room that they’re going to carry on in exactly the same way,” he added.

Nasser Hussain talking about the importance of Rohit Sharma.

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Following Rohit Sharma’s departure, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer forged a terrific partnership of 163 runs to power India to a mammoth total of 397. Kohli went back to the dressing room pulling off a spectacular knock of 117 off 113 balls. Iyer, on the other hand, scored 105 runs off 70 deliveries.

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New Zealand failed to start their run chase on a promising note having lost their two opening batters putting up just 39 runs on board. The target, eventually, proved to be quite challenging as the Kiwis fell short by 70 runs. Indian pacer Mohammad Shami scripted incredible figures of 7/57 in 9.5 overs to guide his side to the World Cup final, scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.