T20 World Cup 2022: The Indian cricket team on Thursday suffered a heartbreaking defeat against England in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022. The Men in Blue lost the contest by 10 wickets as England chased down the target of 169 in 16 overs. Following India's loss, captain Rohit Sharma has admitted the team was not up to the mark with the ball.
"Pretty disappointed how it turned up today against England. We batted well at the backend to get to 168. But we were not up to the mark with the ball. It was not a wicket where a team can chase this target down in 16 overs. We couldn't turn up today. We were nervy to start with the ball, but you have to give credit to the England openers, they played really well," Sharma said in the post-match presentation.
Sharma also stated that there was a bit of movement at the start but India didn't bowl tight. "When Bhuvneshwar bowled the first over, it swung today, but not from the right areas. We wanted to keep it tight, not to give room to the batters. We knew runs come square of the wicket. If we keep it tight and the batsman still scores runs, we'll take it. But we didn't do that today.
Sharma also stated that it is all about handling pressure in the knockouts and one can't teach this thing. "When it comes to knockout rounds, it's all about handling the pressure. It Depends on the individual as well. You can't teach anyone to handle pressure. When these players play the playoffs in the IPL, those are high-pressure games, and they're able to handle it," Sharma added.
The Men in Blue set a 168-run total on the back of fifties from Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. Other batters could not contribute much as Chris Jordan starred with the ball. Coming out to chase, the English opening pair of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales smashed the Indian bowlers, registering a 10-wicket win against the 2007 champions. The Three Lions will take on Pakistan in the final on 13th November.
