Rohit Sharma's mic malfunctions during live interview, Shaun Pollock comes to India captain's rescue with classy gesture

Rohit Sharma's statement that his elbow is 'just a little sore' came as music to the ears of all Indian fans after his team defeated Ireland by eight wickets at New York's Nassau County Cricket Ground on Tuesday. A long way to go in the T20 World Cup, India would be happy to bag two crucial points ahead of their blockbuster clash against Pakistan on Sunday, with none other than the captain himself scoring a half-century and getting some form going.

However, as Rohit was detailing the takeaways of the game and how the pitch behaved during his post-match presentation, his mic broke. As the India captain's voice began cracking due to the mic malfunction, the broadcaster Shaun Pollock saved the day by offering his own microphone and holding it for Rohit to answer the questions. Pollock, the former South Africa captain, exuded class and took it upon himself to ensure that he held the mic till the end of the interview.

Pollock's question to Rohit was, “In the T20 format, you sometimes have to adjust your plan and show certain variations. What was your plan out there once you saw what the pitch was doing… try to stick and hit the hard lengths?”

But as Rohit started the answer, his mic began to malfunction. That's when Pollock stepped in. "I think your mic might be gone. I'll hold it for you." Don't forget, this is a former Proteas captain and a champion bowler of his time who has played 108 Tests and 303 ODIs for South Africa, picked up over 800 international wickets and scored more than 7000 runs for his country.

While the pitch caused a few problems, such as hitting Rohit and Rishabh Pant on the elbow due to its awkward bounce and cracks, the skipper was pleased with the team's overall effort. With Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh opening the bowling and the latter generating a decent chunk of swing, India would head into Sunday's Pakistan game with more questions answered.

Rohit pleased with India's performance

"I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that's five months old. I don't think the wicket settled down even when we batted second. There was enough for the bowlers. That's pretty much what you got to do. Try to hit those lengths consistently. All these guys have played a lot of Test cricket. Arshdeep is the only guy who hasn't. His two wickets upfront set the tone for us. Don't think we can play four spinners here," Rohit said after the match.

"When we picked the team, we wanted to have the balance. If conditions are there for seamers, we wanted to have that. Spin will play a part later on. Today was a four-seamer pitch, and we still managed to get two spinners who are all-rounders. I don't know what to expect from the pitch to be honest. We will prepare as if the conditions are going to be like this (for the Pakistan game). This is going to be a kind of game where all XI of us will need to contribute. It was scratchy, but good to spend some time in the middle and understand what kind of shots to play there."

With the win, Rohit knocked off a few records himself. He overtook MS Dhoni to become India’s most successful captain in T20Is, became the first man in international cricket to smash 600 international sixes and completed 1000 runs in T20 World Cups.