Two losses will not turn India into a bad team overnight says opener Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (3rd November), who led the 2007 champions to their maiden Twenty20 World Cup victory.
Following thorough defeats by Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12 stage of the competition, the pre-tournament favorites are in danger of exiting early.
They ended their losing streak with a 66-run win over Afghanistan on Wednesday, and now must win their next two Group II games and hope for favorable outcomes elsewhere to get to the semi-finals.
Rohit said, “We are a very good team. It’s just that we were not good on that particular day against Pakistan and New Zealand.”
Furthermore, Rohit said, “The game we played today pretty much sums it up, that this is the kind of team we are. When we play fearlessly, this is what we get. We have been consistently playing quality cricket. One or two bad games do not make us bad overnight.”
Pakistan, the group’s leaders, has advanced to the semi-finals, and India hopes to join them by winning convincingly against Scotland and Namibia, while also depending on Afghanistan to defeat New Zealand.
The Indian vice-captain said, “To be honest, it’s very much that kind of situation for us. We know that if we lose any game from here on now, we are out of the tournament. So, we have to win everything.”
Additionally, he said, “When you are in that kind of situation you have to play fearlessly, not think too much about what’s happening, or what’s happening elsewhere.”
Rohit Sharma, who is slated to succeed Virat Kohli as India’s Twenty20 captain after the World Cup, said they were jaded in the first two games.
He said, “Our approach today was different. I wish it was in the first two games as well, but it didn’t happen.” Adding to this, he said, “When you are on the road for a long time, decision-making sometimes can be a problem. That is exactly what happened in the first two games.”
