June 17 - It was fitting that on his first Father’s Day as a new dad, Rohit Sharma should produce a match-winning performance for India – especially as he credits his daughter for his current stellar form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sharma’s wife Ritika gave birth to the couple’s first child, Samaira, back in December and the opener claims that life-changing moment off the field has provided him with the serenity needed to excel out in the middle. Pakistan certainly won’t argue that the 32-year-old wasn’t at his brilliant best as he plundered 140 from just 113 balls, helping his side to a convincing 89-run win at Old Trafford.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That knock also means Sharma joins Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli (twice) as the only men to score 50+ in five consecutive ODI innings for India, so Samaira’s impact has clearly been potent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“The space I’m in right now is a very good place in my life,” smiled Sharma. “Having a newly-born daughter has put me in a good space.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“I’m enjoying my cricket, I was coming off a great IPL campaign and have started well at this World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“We know how important it is to start well at a World Cup, so the focus was on that first of all. As a team we’re heading in the right direction. It’s important to keep ticking all the boxes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“The crowd come to matches for entertainment and we were really good as a team. We really wanted those two points following the washout last time and we wanted to display our skills because we’ve been in good form.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sharma was opening the batting with a new partner in KL Rahul, due to Shikhar Dhawan’s hand injury.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The duo appeared to click instantly, putting on 136 for the first wicket – a record opening partnership in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That set a perfect platform for India to reach 336\/5, establishing a strong position that they turned into victory, and Sharma says everything went to plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“The crucial phase of the innings was the first phase and not losing a wicket was vital,” he added. “As an opener, it’s your job to make sure you don’t lose too many wickets up front.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“In conditions like that, it’s more of a new-ball game and the opposition can put pressure on you if they get going. We wanted to build a platform and tried to take the game forward after that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“It was KL’s first game as opener for India, so I wanted to make sure he was comfortable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“There’s a challenge you face in terms of understanding – when he wants to run two, when I want to take singles and things like that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“We had lots of communication out there and hopefully we can build on it now I know he will be opening for the next few games.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
ICC<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Rohit-Sharma3.jpg", "alt_img": "Rohit Sharma ", "alt_title": "ICC Cricket World Cup 2019", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Centurion Rohit Sharma celebrates Father\u2019s Day in style On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Sharma\u2019s wife Ritika gave birth to the couple\u2019s first child, Samaira, back in December and the opener claims that life-changing moment off the field has provided him with the serenity needed to excel out in the middle. Pakistan certainly won\u2019t argue that ", "seo_keywords": "Rohit Sharma, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019", "tag": "", "tagging": "Rohit Sharma,ICC Cricket World Cup 2019,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "centurion-rohit-sharma-celebrates-fathers-day-in-style", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2024", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2019-06-17 13:56:33", "updated": "2019-06-17 13:56:33", "img_from": "Source - ICC", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Indian Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma, India vs Pakistan", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2019-06-17 13:56:33", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2019-06-17 13:56:33", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/centurion-rohit-sharma-celebrates-fathers-day-in-style-49064" }