Team India posted an 8-wicket win over Ireland on Wednesday at the Nassau County Stadium in New York to kick off their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on a triumphant note.
India wrapped up the Irish innings for 96 runs in 16 overs as Hardik Pandya picked up a three-fer. He was supported well by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, who scalped a couple of wickets each.
Captain Rohit Sharma led the chase from the front with an unbeaten fifty but retired hurt for precautionary reasons after a seam ball hit him on his forearm. He levied fears of anything serious at the post-match presser as he revealed his arm just felt a bit sore due to the impact.
“It is just a little sore”, he began.
He touched up on the uncertainty in playing in the new pitch stating that he did not know what to expect from it.
“I said it at the toss as well, quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware of what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old,” he said.
“I don’t think the wicket settled down even when we batted second. There was enough for the bowlers,” he added.
He asserted that the bowlers need to look to hit the right patches on such wickets and the bunch of experience available in the team made it easy to adjust to the conditions.
“That’s pretty much what you gotta do. Try to hit those lengths consistently. All these guys have played a lot of Test cricket. Arshdeep is the only guy who hasn’t. His two wickets upfront set the tone for us,” he continued.
India have included four spinners in their 15-man unit for the tournament, but Rohit opined that it wouldn’t be possible to play the turners on wickets such as the one in New York. However, emphasised that the spinners would come into the fold later on in the tournament.
“I don’t think we can play four spinners here,” he jested.
“When we picked the team, we wanted to have the balance. If conditions are there for seamers, we wanted to have that. Spin will play a part later on,” he said.
“Today was a four-seamer pitch and we still managed to get two spinners who are allrounders,” he recounted.
India take on Pakistan in their next fixture on the 9th of the month in a blockbuster encounter at the very same stadium.
“I don’t know what to expect from the pitch to be honest. We will prepare as if the conditions are going to be like this,” the Indian skipper said.
He added that the crucial fixture would demand a stand-up performance from each member of the team
“This is going to be a kind of game where all XI of us will need to contribute,” Rohit asserted.
He concluded by stating that it was good to get some time out there in the middle and assess the conditions ahead of the blockbuster match-up.
“It was scratchy, but good to spend some time in the middle and understand what kind of shots to play there,” he signed off.
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