KL Rahul often has had the best view in the stadium to watch Rohit Sharma impose his brilliance on the opposition bowling.
On Tuesday, Rahul stitched together a fine 180-run opening stand for India with Sharma as the duo set the tone for an Indian win.
Rahul who has failed to get going after a few starts was pleased with his performance but was quick to quash any comparisons with his opening partner.
“You would be a fool to be tempted to bat like Rohit because he is in a different class,” he said. “He is on a different planet altogether when he gets going.
“He made it look really easy [against Bangladesh] when really it wasn’t anything of the kind. The pitch was two-paced, up and down, not coming on to the bat, but from the way he played you would not have known.
“We expect it from him and he is delivering every time. To bat with him is really easy because he takes the pressure off you. He keeps getting the boundaries and the scoreboard keeps ticking, I just have to keep there with him. It is great fun.
“He has scored the most runs for the team, but everyone else has chipped in and we have talked about that as a team, to keep the contributions coming from the middle order and at the death,” Rahul said.
Read: All records Rohit Sharma broke with his century against Bangladesh at the World Cup
The 27-year-old though wants to bat for more overs in order to help India carry the momentum through the innings.
Rahul lasted until the 33rd over against Bangladesh before edging a sharp catch which wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim held well to his right. The 77 runs he scored was his highest score of the World Cup so far.
“Personally, I feel I have been going well, but am not fully satisfied as I haven’t carried on after some of the starts. When I say ‘convert’ I mean getting to, say, 35 or 45 overs as often as I can because in these conditions it is the set batsmen who can do the most damage.”
Asked about the team’s way of rejoicing after reaching the semi-finals, Rahul revealed that the team would not want to celebrate too much with the big games ahead of them.
“We did enjoy a bit of a celebration after the game,” he said. “We are two steps away from winning the trophy and that has been a dream we have worked towards for the past four years.
“We put in a clinical performance, we batted and bowled well, and we have this winning momentum. Now we have to make sure we keep our heads up and our eyes on what is happening, he added.
India now face Sri Lanka at Headingley on Saturday in their last league phase game before the semi-finals.
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