Rohit was seen struggling while fielding and it seemed he had pulled his hamstring. However, the skipper, who also left the field for a brief period during the Pakistan innings, said he was "okay" when asked about his hamstring in the presentation ceremony
India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday played down concerns around his fitness that were triggered by an unscheduled break that he took during his team's six-wicket win over Pakistan in a crucial group A match of the Champions Trophy in Dubai. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
Rohit was seen struggling while fielding and it seemed he had pulled his hamstring. However, the skipper, who also left the field for a brief period during the Pakistan innings, said he was "okay" when asked about his hamstring in the presentation ceremony.
"Hamstring's okay at the moment," the 37-year-old said in the presentation ceremony following the win that has almost clinched a semifinal slot for India.
While the bowlers set it up by packing off Pakistan for 241, the star of the day undoubtedly was Virat Kohli, who got to his 51st ODI hundred with the winning boundary through the off-side.
Rohit was effusive in his praise for his longtime India teammate.
"Virat loves representing the country, doing what he does the best, which is what he did today. People sitting inside the dressing room aren't surprised with what he did," Rohit said.
As India closed in on victory with Kohli less than 10 runs away from his hundred, Rohit was seen gesturing to the star batter to go for the landmark with a couple of big hits.
Rohit said all the players did what was required of them.
"We started superbly with the ball. We knew wicket could get slower but backed our experienced batters to go out there and get 240. Credit goes to Kuldeep, Axar, Jadeja who have played a lot.
"(Mohammad) Rizwan and Saud (Shakeel) stitched a good stand, it was important not to let the game drift. Not to forget how (Mohammed) Shami, Hardik (Pandya), and Harshit (Rana) bowled as well. It was a good performance from the entire unit. Boys understand what kind of job is required out of them.
"It's tricky at times because not all will get to bowl. I try to figure out who's creating the most problems to the batters and make decisions," Roihit said.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said poor shot selection did not help his side's cause after it opted to bat first, and called for improvement in fielding.
"We won the toss, but we didn't get the benefit of toss. Their bowlers bowled very well. Me and Saud Shakeel, we wanted to take it deep. But our shot selection was bad and we lost wickets, which is why we were kept to 240," Rizwan said.
Tournament hosts Pakistan are on the brink of elimination after suffering their second defeat in the event.
Rizwan added, "They put us under pressure. Whenever you lose, you didn't perform in all departments. We wanted to squeeze, but we couldn't.
"Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game away. We need to improve in our fielding. We did a lot of mistakes in this match."
Only god knows what awaits us: Abrar
Spinner Abrar Ahmed, who delivered the ball of the tournament to dismiss Shubman Gill for a fine 46, said he tried to remain disciplined and added he did not regret giving a fiery send-off to the Indian batter.
"It's not an issue. I celebrate the same way even when I get wickets in Pakistan. Match is about winning and losing," said Abrar, who finished with impressive figures of 1/28 in 10 overs.
He also said it was easier to bat in the second innings.
"The wicket was much better to bat in the second innings. First innings, it offered some help to the bowlers."
"Only Allah knows what lies in store for us," Abrar said when asked about the disappointment of losing to their traditional rivals yet again. PTI AH PM AH PM PM