Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in action during the first ODI
Team India's pair of captain and his deputy, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma established a 246-run stand for the second-wicket partnership to help India beat West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI in Guwahati on Sunday. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who claimed three wickets, was full of praise for the "legends of the game".
"We enjoy watching them [Rohit and Kohli] bat, they are two legends of the game, at times we feel they are playing PS4," Chahal said after the match.
India mowed down the challenging 323-run target with 7.5 overs to spare and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
Earlier, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said it is very difficult to contain the duo of skipper Kohli and Rohit when they are batting in full flow as the hosts chased down a stiff target with consummate ease.
"If they are set, it's tough to get them out. They can hit ground strokes and in the air with equal ease. It becomes tough against such batters," said Jadeja after India's commanding eight-wicket win.
"They played proper cricketing shots. They did not take any chances, they were just playing according the situation," said the left-arm spinner of Kohli and Rohit's 246-run partnership, the first-ever 200-plus run stand against the West Indies.
Jadeja returned with 2 for 66 run figures as West Indies put up a rampaging batting show after being sent in by Kohli.
He said the conditions were ideal for batting even as the hosts had apprehensions on how the wicket would behave while chasing the stiff target.
"Wicket was also very good to bat on. It was not spinning or swinging much. The ball was coming nicely to bat. It was an ideal condition for the batsmen," Jadeja said.
"After they scored 320-plus, we did not know how it will behave in the second half. But after the start we got following (Shikhar) Dhawan's wicket we thought we could chase it down. Overall it stayed true through out the game," he added.
Jadeja said India decided against fielding three spinners because of the uncertainty factor of the wicket.
"We didn't know how the wicket would behave, this being the first ODI here. We thought three seamers will help to contain the batsmen in the powerplay," he said.
