On the eve of their semifinal clash against England in the Men's T20 World Cup, India skipper Rohit Sharma insisted that it is important for his side to not get too thinking about what would happen in future and stick to the processes which propelled them to get to the knockouts.
India entered the semifinals as the toppers from Group 2 in Super 12s and will be meeting England in a knockout match of the T20 World Cups for the first time at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
"It's important to not get ahead of ourselves and we do understand as well that we have to play good cricket to win that game, which we have done in this tournament. We just need to stick to it," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference.
Though Rohit acknowledged that India are two steps away from ending a nine-year wait for a World Cup trophy, he added that India will stick to what has worked for them in the tournament till now. "It's an opportunity for us to come and do that (get the silverware). But we do understand it's been a long process for us and we will stick to our process.
"I know we are (a) long way away from it (winning the trophy). But I think it's important to understand that it's a contest between bat and ball, which we have to come out on top with and trust what you have been doing so far."
On Tuesday, India had a mini-scare when Rohit was hit on the forearm while batting in the optional practice session. He looked in pain and received immediate medical attention, forcing him to stop batting for around 45 minutes.
But by the time the nets session ended, Rohit was back to decently batting in the nets. Talking about the blow in the nets, Rohit said he was fine to play in the semifinal. "Yes, I was hit yesterday. It seems to be fine now. There was a little bruising and it's absolutely fine now."
India had met England in a three-match away bilateral series in July, where Rohit & Co emerged victorious by 2-1. The right-handed opener felt that the previous series win over their semifinal opponents earlier in the year will give Indian team huge confidence, but was quick to remind that Thursday's match will be a fresh start for the team as bearings of the past won't matter much.
"Certainly, going into the game, it will give us some confidence because beating a team like England in England, it's a big challenge and we overcame that challenge pretty well. But again we do understand the dynamics of the T20 game. You just have to be good on that particular day, otherwise it's not good enough. Certainly, the guys will have some confidence going into tomorrow's game.
"Also, a lot of the guys who have played in that series, are not part of this team and a lot of people in the team right now didn't play in that series. For us in the back of our mind, we can have that confidence knowing that we did pretty well against them.
"But tomorrow's game is going to be a fresh game. We have to be good on that day in terms of skills and need to be better than them to come out on top. All those records of the past, I don't think it's going to matter too much.
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"It's just that you can carry that confidence with you. But again, we need to start fresh and think about tomorrow with fresh mind. We can't go into the game thinking that we have beaten this team and it can happen again just like that."
"We do need to play well to win the game because these guys (England) are quite dangerous and have some really good cricket in the tournament as well, which is why they are here. We got to be at our best to win the game."
Pant, Karthik are in play for the semifinals, says Rohit Sharma
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is yet to play an impactful knock and provide India the required finishing touches in the ongoing Men's T20 World Cup. With all his scores in the tournament till now in single digits, India tried Rishabh Pant in their final Group 2 match against Zimbabwe.
Though Pant failed to make a substantial contribution with the bat, making just three runs against Zimbabwe in Melbourne, questions have arisen over Karthik coming back in the side for the semifinal against England at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
On the eve of the semifinal, India skipper Rohit Sharma didn't reveal who would be the keeper-batter in the eleven, but said that both Pant and Karthik are in play for the crucial match.
"Between DK and Pant, I had said before the last game as well, Rishabh was the only guy who did not get to play on this tour at all, except the two games we played at Perth (against Western Australia XI). They were unofficial practice games, but since then he hasn't had a hit.
"He was the only guy who was missing some game-time, so we wanted to give him some time and have some options as well if we want to make changes in the semifinal or final, which we should be able to do that," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference.
"It will be unfair to just bring a guy out of nowhere and make him play the game, so that was the thought. But again, we have told the guys right from the beginning that everyone needs to be ready for whichever game that they have to play, whether it is the semis, finals or league games," added the right-handed opener.
With a school of thought opining that Pant could be effective against England's off-spin and leg-spin duo of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in Adelaide, where the square boundaries are short, Rohit admitted that those thoughts had prompted the side to give the left-hander game time against Zimbabwe.
"It was a little tactical as well considering we were not knowing which team we would be playing in the semifinals before that Zimbabwe game. We wanted to just give the left-hander (Pant) an opportunity to counter some of those spinners who bowl in the middle for New Zealand and England.
"That was the thought, and we thought Rishabh was the guy for us to go and give him some time as well. But again, what is going to happen tomorrow, I cannot tell right now, but both of those keepers will be in play for sure."
Rohit further expressed confidence over Axar Patel coming good for India ahead of the semifinal, citing that the left-arm spin all-rounder is in good frame of mind. Against Netherlands, Patel bowled a brilliant spell to take 2/18 in his four overs. But against other teams in the tournament, it has been no wickets for him while conceding 63 runs in five overs.
"To be honest, not really worried, as such, because he hardly got to bowl in this tournament. Except that game against Netherlands, he's not bowled full overs of his quota, only because of the condition that has to offer. We've got four seamers who have particularly bowled all of their quotas, which means the spinners will not bowl their overs.
"If you look at the conditions, except Sydney, all the grounds we've played had a lot to offer to the seamers, which means we never got an opportunity to bowl Axar in the powerplay, which is his specialty, and honestly have not looked too much into his bowling and gotten worried about his performance because we do understand his quality and the series that we played before coming here bowled exceptionally well.
"Guys can have one bad tournament; it doesn't mean that he's out of form or not bowling well or not been able to execute plans. I thought the kind of space he's in for me that is important, and when I talked to him, when I hear his thoughts, I pretty much feel that he's in a good space, and that is exactly what we want when you're about to play a game like that," concluded Rohit.
