Rohit elated after incredible chase

Rohit Sharma has been a changed batsman since he was given the responsibility to open the innings and he showed his class once again guiding India to its biggest chase ever.

The Mumbaikar, who scored an unbeaten 141 in India’s pursuit of Australia’s 359/5, said even they never thought of making it so easily in the end.

“Chasing 360 is never easy. But because of the new five-fielder (inside the circle) rule, any target can be chased. We held our nerves and played according to the situation. The opening partnership was 176 and then Kohli and I finished off really well. Big chases need big partnerships and that’s what happened,” Rohit said.

“We needed to keep wickets in hand but I had no idea we would win by nine wickets. That was special.”

Rohit was relieved at finally scoring a big century.

“I have been trying to play long innings for a long time, so I am very happy. But it was more important that we won and won by nine wickets. It’s probably our biggest chase ever and I am happy to have played a part in it. Hopefully we can carry on – there are still five games to go, so we can’t afford to lose the momentum.”

Rohit complimented Kohli and Shikar Dhawan for their contributions.

“We spoke about breaking up the target. We spoke about a 40-run partnership. We played with the bowlers’ mind, we wanted to put them under pressure. Kohli played unbelievable shots and hats off to him. Shikhar gave us the momentum. Unfortunately he got out,” he said.

Australian skipper George Bailey said Kohli, who stroked the fasted hundred by an Indian, took the game away from them.

“The moment Virat came to the crease, he started attacking but never took any risks. He set the tempo and it was smart cricket from him. Basically all three of them (Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit) batted amazingly but it was Virat who took the game away from us. It was pretty awesome,” he said.

Bailey prasied his team’s batting. “The manner in which we batted was great. We also bowled well in the first match. I would like to take these positives but we still have five matches to go.”

Top-five fastest tons in ODIs: Shahid Afridi of Pakistan vs Sri Lanka -- 102 off 37* balls; Mark Boucher of S Africa vs Zimbabwe -- 147 n.o. off 44*; Brian Lara of West Indies vs Bangladesh -- 117 off 45*; Shahid Afridi vs India -- 102 off 45*; Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka vs Pakistan -- 134 off 48*. *Number of balls taken to reach century