GEORGETOWN: As the sun shone here after long spells of rain, India worked on their game at the Providence Stadium one last time before getting to the business end. The relaxed approach that has been part and parcel of this Indian team was still there but Rohit Sharma looked slightly more tense than he usually does.
When an English journalist asked him whether it was always easier for India because they always knew they would be playing the semifinal in Guyana, Rohit didn’t look too happy.
“I don’t think it is an advantage and England players have played in different types of venues. At the end of the day good cricket matters. I’m only worry that we could miss the next chartered flight to the next venue if it goes too late,” Rohit’s words, slightly dismissive, showed how confident the team was going into the game against England.
India’s constant failures in the knockout stages of ICC tournaments also came up and the skipper was ask whether the losses were due to fear of failure or just bad days at office. Rohit agreed that “it is a combination of both”.
“We want to treat this as just another game and won’t stress on context that it is a semi-final. We’ll not talk and think about what happened in the past. We played well and enjoyed each other’s success and carry on from what we’ve been doing,” added Rohit who did not want to get ahead himself when he said this.
It was slightly contradictory to what he said later but this time round, however, despite saying something else earlier, in order for them make sound decisions as everybody expects them to make so if they do not stay in touch with now “they will never be able to make correct decisions” – skipper; again displaying his brilliance as a captain by simplifying things.
Their previous win against Australia gives this side confidence heading into semis; when asked about what his biggest takeaway from the win was, the skipper smiled: “Maybe Australia are out of it now?” He later went on to say that he was satisfied by how his side did what was needed at different stages in the game.
“We played with confidence, which is a positive to take. Bowlers stick to their plans and batters play their part.
This format is about confidence and when we win like that, it gets a major boost. In fact the Bangladesh game was the perfect game for us because only one guy scored a half-century and the rest 20s and 30s and still we made 196.”
