WATCH | Rohit Sharma delivers another iconic press conference ahead of semi-final against England

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Rohit Sharma stuck to his no-holds-barred approach in the pre-match presser in Guyana ahead of Thursday's T20 World Cup semi-final against England. The Indian skipper addressed ball-tampering allegations, the elimination of Australia from the tournament, and the pressure of playing a knockout game.

India qualified for the semi-finals of the World T20 as Super Eights group leaders with a commanding win against Australia, in the process knocking out the reigning 50-over champions. Skipper Rohit Sharma attended the cursory captain's pre-match press conference at Providence Stadium on the eve of their meeting against England and was at his entertaining best.

When asked what the biggest takeaway was from the 24-run triumph against the Kangaroos, Rohit seemed to ponder for a few seconds before quipping with a chuckle, "The biggest takeaway is that there is no more Australian national cricket team in this competition."

Australia had seemed on course for a 206-run chase when some clinical death bowling from India handed them the edge. However, former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq alleged in the aftermath that the Men in Blue had tampered with the ball, given Arshdeep Singh was "impossibly" extracting reverse swing as early as the 15th over.

"What should I even answer to this," Rohit cut a frustrated figure when asked about it.

"We are playing in such sunny conditions, the wicket is so dry, the ball reverses on its own. It is happening for every team, not just us. Sometimes, you need to open your mind and think of the playing conditions. The match is not being held in England or Australia," he concluded with a wry smile.

This is the fifth time India will play the semi-final of a T20 World Cup, having made it to the final twice in 2007 and 2014. Rohit played down any concerns about the pressure of a knockout game, with memories of their consistent knockout failures over the past decade looming large over the fixture.  

"See, we want to treat this game as another game that we have played in this tournament. We don't want to think about what lies ahead and what is the context of the game and all of that. Everyone knows in the back of their mind it's a semi-final. But you don't want to keep talking about it again and again and again. And not to think about what has happened in the past," Rohit assured.

"I think we are, all of us, the entire group is in a good frame of mind. We are playing well as a team, enjoying each other's company, enjoying each other's success at times as well. Yes, we've been put under pressure in certain games during this tournament as well, but I thought we responded pretty well. And that is probably because we're not thinking too far ahead.

The upcoming semi-final is a repeat from the 2022 edition, where England had emerged triumphant by 10 wickets. India was subsequently heavily criticized for lacking killer instinct with the bat leading to a subpar total in good batting conditions.

"Yes, it's important to play without fear," Rohit addressed the concerns. "And we have created this environment in the team for the past few years … This format is like that now. Individual scores and individual brilliance don't matter that much. If someone does it, it's good, but you shouldn't focus on it that I have to score 70 runs, 90, or 100 runs."

Neither India nor England have played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana so far, where bowlers usually have a big say in the game.

"I know it sounds very boring for me to talk about conditions, conditions, because that does matter a lot," Rohit said. "Because in New York, we saw what the winning score was. So, we want to be a smart cricket team. We don't want to just talk in one language, which is to just go and swing the bat."

"I think it is important for us to understand what conditions are in front of us and what we have to do. And I have spoken about experience in this group, and we rely on that experience from each player to go out and make that decision, whether it is playing the reverse sweep, whether it is bowling a yorker, whether it is bowling a bouncer. We rely on those individuals to make that decision."

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