ICC CWC 2019: Kohli praises these players for India’s thumping win over South Africa

XtraTime We Desk: India started their journey in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with a bang as they beat South Africa by 6 wickets thanks to a unbeaten 122 runs knock by team’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma at Ageas Bowl on Wednesday. After the match India skipper Virat Kohli heaped high praise on Rohit for his magical knock. Beside that he also lauded the performances of Yuzvendra Chahal & Jasprit Bumrah for their remarkable bowling.

“Hats off to Rohit, very professional win. We were going to bowl first had we won the toss, with the new ball conditions were going to be difficult, they were coming off two losses.

“Jasprit is operating at a different level, batsmen are always feeling pressure. Chahal too was outstanding. There’s one thing when you see a bowler bowl and when you catch the ball, you understand the heaviness.

The next 15 minutes my hands were buzzing (when Kohli took the catch to see off Quinton de Kock), that’s how quickly Bumrah is bowling.

“It was absolutely outstanding to get Amla out like that in ODIs, I haven’t seen it. To get Quinny as well was outstanding. We’re confident as a group, with the bat we had to be careful. That’s why I said Rohit’s innings was special. One of the top three getting a 100 is something we bank on,” Kohli said.

Kohli also feels that it was important to start off on a strong note in the tournament.

“The wait was very long, and then you get a game like this. It was challenging throughout the whole game and it was important to start on the right note, have a win that was complete,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “”If you look at how the game went and pitch behaved, it was challenging.”