“Tough To Play…”: Rohit Sharma’s Straight Talk After Guiding India To 1st T20 World Cup Final In A Decade

India ended a 10-year wait early on Friday morning with a commanding 68-run win over England in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. For the first time since the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, India will be playing in the final of the marquee event. In a rain-affected match, on a slow pitch, batting first was going to be a tricky but Rohit Sharma‘s men rose up to the challenge. 

Suryakumar Yadav (47) and Rohit Sharma (57) led the charge as India posted a tough 172-run target. In reply, England were all out for just 103.   

After the win, Rohit Sharma opened about how they win the semi-final. 

“Very satisfying to win. Worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well, conditions were challenging. That’s been the success story for us so far. If bowlers and batters adapt, things fall in place,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony. 

“At one stage, 140-150 looked par. But we got runs in the middle, SKY and I were going and thought we can get 20-25 more. 175 was a very good score, bowlers were fantastic. Axar, Kuldeep are gun spinners. Tough to play shots against them in these conditions. They were calm under pressure. We had a chat after the first innings, message was to keep stumps in play. That’s what they did. I can set the target in my mind, but I don’t want to let anyone know about it, to the batters. They are all instinctive players. I thought 170 was a very good surface.”

India flaunted their superabundance of talent in a display of absolute dominance to storm into the final of the T20 World Cup with a 68-run shellacking of England in their semi-final on Thursday.

Leading the charge once again was their inspirational skipper Rohit Sharma, who laid the foundation with an aggressive 57 off 39 balls, and the captain was well-supported by Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 36), as India posted 171 for seven after being asked to bat first in the rain-hit match.

In reply, England were bowled out for 103 in 16.4 overs as India set up a title clash with first-timers South Africa in Barbados on Saturday. This is India’s third entry into the final of the tournament.