Following Netherlands' stunner against South Africa on Tuesday in Dharamsala, Team India remains among the only two teams, New Zealand being the other, to not have lost a match yet in the 2023 World Cup. The host nation has made a brilliant start to the tournament winning three of their first three games - against Australia, Afghanistan and arch-rivals Pakistan. The three victories have put India atop in the present points table, separated by New Zealand only by a superior net run rate.
When the tournament was around the corner, India were deemed among the title favourites and they rightly remain so after 15 matches in the tournament, but the greatest challenge for the team, that many considered, was the pressure of dealing with the expectations of being a host nation. The expectations of 1.3 billion Indians are always at its highest every time India play an ICC event, but at home, in their known conditions, with hundreds of Indian spectators roaring loud at every venue they play, the pressure increases a million times. But the Men in Blue have dealt with it impressively thus brushing aside the concerns.
Two-time World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting, in conversation with ICC on Tuesday, credited captain Rohit Sharma for the team dealing with the pressure of playing in front of the fervent fans.
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"He's very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does,” Ponting said. "You can even see that by the way that he plays. He's a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that's the way he is both on and off the field. We can't sit back and say that the pressure won't get to them at some stage, or it won't affect them, because it will, just with the enormity of the tournament. But he'll take it and cope with it as well as probably anyone.”
{{/usCountry}}"He's very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does,” Ponting said. "You can even see that by the way that he plays. He's a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that's the way he is both on and off the field. We can't sit back and say that the pressure won't get to them at some stage, or it won't affect them, because it will, just with the enormity of the tournament. But he'll take it and cope with it as well as probably anyone.”
{{/usCountry}}Ponting then further compared Rohit's personality with that of ex-India skipper Virat Kohli and explained what makes the former the ideal captain to lead the team in a home World Cup.
"Someone like Virat, who is a bit more heart-on-the-sleeve, and probably listens to the fans and plays up with the fans a little bit more, someone with his personality would probably find it a bit harder,” Ponting said. "But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He's a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he's done a great job as leader of India.”
India, who are looking to claim their third World Cup title and first since they lifted it at home in 2011, still have a long distance to cover and amid a few upsets, which saw defending champions England and South Africa falter, the team will want to be wary going forward. They will play their fourth league on Friday in Pune against Bangladesh.