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Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar lauded the Men in Blue for trying to be the most dominant side with each passing game. Gavaskar said that India's refusal to stay complacent regardless of the situation is quite refreshing.
The Men in Blue steamrolled South Africa on Sunday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to register their eighth straight win in the 2023 World Cup. Batting first, the hosts piled up 326 in their allotted 50 overs before skittling the Proteas for a paltry 83.
Gavaskar dissected India's performance in the World Cup, saying on Star Sports:
"You want to be the champions, you want to make sure that you win big. You want to show that you are the best team in the competition by a long distance, and that's exactly what the Indian team is doing at the moment.
"There is a match against the Netherlands, which might be inconsequential because India is only now number one. But they don't want to stumble anywhere once it comes to the knockout stages."
The game at the Eden Gardens was memorable, as Virat Kohli mustered a century, equalling Sachin Tendulkar's record tally of 49 ODI tons. Kohli's partnership of 134 with Shreyas Iyer was vital in India reaching the total.
"There is no next day if you have a bad day in the knockouts" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar, a 125-Test veteran, believes it's vital to continue that winning mentality and carry into the knockouts as things can get fickle:
"The whole temperament, your whole mental attitude towards the match will change because in the group stage you always think, Oh, there's another match to come.
"But there is no next day if you have a bad day in the in the knockouts. So you want to get into that winning rhythm. You want to get into that winning mentality, and that's what the Indian team is doing."
Rohit Sharma and co. face the Netherlands in their final group game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on November 12.
