Rohit's blistering fifty powers India to 93 for no loss in pursuit of 252 in Champions Trophy final
Rohit pulled the second ball of the innings into the stands to make his intention clear and raced to his first half-century of the tournament off only 41 balls.
PTI
Still from the match
DUBAI: Skipper Rohit Sharma returned to form with a brisk half-century, powering India to 93 for no loss after 15 overs in their pursuit of 252 in the Champions Trophy final here on Sunday.
Rohit pulled the second ball of the innings into the stands to make his intention clear and raced to his first half-century of the tournament off only 41 balls.
After 15 overs, Rohit had raced to 65 off 55 balls with seven fours and three sixes with his deputy Shubman Gill playing second fiddle to perfection with 23 off 35 balls with one six.
Gill also had luck on his side when Daryl Mitchell spilled a catch at short midwicket off Jamieson in the seventh over.
Rohit continued with his ultra aggressive approach as he hit a couple of fours off William O’Rourke after hitting Kyle Jamieson for a six in the first over.
But he took a liking for Nathan Smith — who replaced Matt Henry — in the eighth over, hitting the right-arm medium fast for 14 runs with two fours and a six.
Earlier, New Zealand were restricted to 251/7 with the Indian bowlers, especially the spinners, producing a clinical performance in the summit clash.
Mitchell top-scored for New Zealand with 63 from 101 balls, while Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips contributed 53 not out, 37 and 34 respectively.