India are set to take on England in the second semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 today (June 27) at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. They are coming into this game after defeating ODI World Champions Australia and the loss eventually knocked them out of the World Cup. India had lost to Australia in the World Cup final last year in Ahmedabad and skipper Rohit Sharma was asked about the same ahead of the semifinal in the pre-match presser.
It was Rohit's 92-run knock that set the tone for India to score 205 runs after being invited to bat first in St Lucia. The in-form bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah then did its job perfectly despite Travis Head smashing 76 runs just like he did in the World Cup final last year. When asked about the 'most satisfying thing about win over Australia', India skipper hilariously responded reminding everyone that Mitchell Marsh and his men have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup with that.
However, he recollected himself very quickly and lauded the men in yellow calling them a champion team while underlining the importance of confidence in the shortest format. "That there's no more Australian cricket team in this competition (laughs). No, look, I think Australia is a great side, without a doubt. That's probably the reason they have won so many championships.
"But for us, the last game, I think the confidence we played the game with, I think that is something that we can take away with us, that confidence of bowlers executing their plans, batters going out there and doing their job. I think this format is all about confidence. And personally, for me as well, I wanted to try and do something which I've been trying to do for a number of years, which is to try and put pressure on the bowlers in whatever way I can. And for me to do that was a great satisfaction at the end of the day. I was waiting for the game to end.
"That is when you feel that what you did there was very satisfying," Rohit said. Meanwhile, with a place in the final at stake, India will be keen on breaking their rut in the semifinal after losing at the stage in 2016 and 2022. It remains to be seen if they will be able to go past England who beat them by 10 wickets in 2022.
