“It was as if he had opened a laundry” - Aakash Chopra’s hilarious take on Rohit Sharma’s assault on Pakistan bowlers

Former India batter Aakash Chopra quipped that Rohit Sharma batted against Pakistan as if he had opened a laundry and was smashing the bowlers to all parts of the park. On a serious note, he hailed the Indian captain for taking responsibility for dealing with Pakistan’s dangerous pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali.

India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in their 2023 World Cup match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14 to maintain their unbeaten streak over their arch-rivals in the ICC event. Bowling first after winning the toss, India bundled out Pakistan for 191 in 42.5 overs. Men in Blue skipper Rohit then top-scored with 86 off 63 balls as India got home in 30.3 overs.

While Jasprit Bumrah was named Player of the Match for his figures of 2/19, Chopra picked Rohit as his Man of the Match. Giving his reasons for the same, he explained while speaking on his YouTube channel:

“Small totals are tricky totals and you can get stuck sometimes. India were 2/3 against Australia. It [Rohit's batting] was as if he had opened a laundry. He was smashing sixes everywhere and that too against bowlers whom we respect. Shaheen [Afridi], Haris [Rauf] and Hasan [Ali] - they are very decent bowlers. But Rohit made them look like pedestrian bowlers.

“In my book, the player of the match is Rohit Sharma, absolutely. Outstanding knock.”

Rohit struck six fours and as many sixes in his innings before falling to a slower ball from Afridi.

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“There’s a big question mark about Shardul’s role in the team” - Aakash Chopra

Before Rohit’s brilliance, India’s bowlers did a great job as five of them claimed two wickets each. However, Shardul Thakur bowled only two overs in which he went wicketless and gave away 12 runs. According to Chopra, there is a lack of clarity over Thakur’s role in the team. He elaborated:

“The spoils were shared in democratic manner among bowlers. Five bowlers got two wickets each. There’s a big question mark about Shardul’s role in the team - he bowled only two overs. This is something the Indian team must reconsider. Losses teach everyone, but the ones who learn from wins and get better are champions.”

Thakur registered figures of 1/31 from six overs against Afghanistan. He has not batted in the two matches that he has played so far.