Rohit Sharma set foundation against England, played captain's knock under pressure: Michael Vaughan

India continued their purple patch in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 as they defeated England by 100 runs in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29 to climb to the top of the points table.

Rohit Sharma orchestrated India's sixth win on the trot in the marquee event with an exceptional knock of 87 off 101 balls on a tricky surface. He started the game strongly, hitting boundaries at will but curbed his aggressive instincts and played to the situation after losing Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer in quick succession. Michael Vaughan lauded the 36-year-old for adjusting his game according to the match situation and soaking the pressure created by the English bowlers.

"The captain set the foundation. India were in a precarious position at 30 for 3 and were under pressure. He got together with KL Rahul. Rohit’s mindset is to be aggressive, be positive, try and hit the boundaries, but he realised that he had to hang in there and play at a Test match tempo with Rahul," said Vaughan while speaking to Cricbuzz.

Also Check: List of Rohit Sharma international & IPL centuries

The former England captain commended how the Mumbai batter mixed caution with aggression and bailed India out of a precarious situation.

“He always had that at the back of his mind that he could find the boundary. He played a beautiful shot off Liam Livingstone, who just spun one earlier. So, he always had that boundary option in him but it was a wonderful captain’s knock because his team was under a little bit of pressure," Vaughan added.

With one foot in the semi-finals, the 'Men in Blue' will take on Sri Lanka at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, November 2 in the ODI World Cup. These two teams met in the finals of the Asia Cup last month when India bundled Dasun Shanaka and Co. out for just 50 before winning by 10 wickets.