Team India captain Rohit Sharma praised his players for their character and belief in their six-run victory over Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue defended a 120-run target at Nassau County International Stadium in New York on Sunday, June 9.
After being sent in to bat first, India struggled initially as Pakistan‘s pace attack dismantled their top order. Despite a recovery that provided a decent platform, India collapsed from 89-3 to 119 all out with an over remaining.
With the ball, India initially failed to match Pakistan’s ability to take early wickets. Pakistan dominated the run chase at the halfway point, but their performance fell apart afterward. They couldn’t hit boundaries, and the rising required rate resulted in regular wickets falling.
Rohit Sharma stated that the message before the second half of the run chase was that Pakistan could also experience a collapse.
“With the bowling lineup we have, you feel confident to get the job done. But the never say die attitude in the team (did it). Halfway through the second innings we said if things can happen to us, it can happen to them as well.”
”That’s what is required in a tournament like this. The little contributions from everyone make a difference,” Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation.
This victory is India’s seventh over Pakistan in T20 World Cup history. India now leads Group A with consecutive wins, while their rivals are close to being eliminated from the tournament.
“We fell short by 15-20 runs”- Rohit Sharma
As India approached the end of the middle overs with Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav at the crease, a total of 150 seemed attainable. However, Pakistan responded by taking wickets in quick succession, limiting India to 119 runs.
Despite the challenging batting conditions, there was a consensus that India fell short of a par score. Rohit Sharma shared this sentiment, acknowledging that his team was well below an ideal total for such conditions.
“We didn’t bat well enough. Halfway through when we were batting, we were in a good position. We were 81 for three down. You expect the guys to stitch partnerships. We were 15-20 runs short. We spoke that every run matters on this ground.”
“We were looking at 140 but nevertheless the bowlers came and did the job for us. It was a good wicket compared to the last two games we played here, hence we thought 140 would be a good total to fight with,” Rohit Sharma added.
Team India’s next match is against co-hosts the United States of America (USA) at the same venue on Wednesday, June 12.
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