Backing the out-of-runs Virat Kohli for the final of the T20 World Cup, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that the form of the star batter is not a problem as the team knows his class and importance. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
India qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup on Thursday by winning by 68 runs against England in the second semifinal but the form of Kohli remained a concern as the star batter got out for his fifth single digit score of the competition.
However, Rohit backed Kohli to come good in final.
"He (Kohli) is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you've played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem," Rohit said at the post-match conference.
Rohit also joked that Virat was probably saving runs for the summit clash.
"He's looking good, the intent is there, he's probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final)."
Despite Kohli's failure, India scored 171 in the semifinal on a slow and low Guyana surface.
Talking about India's innings, Rohit said that the team first though 140-150 was par but then reassessed.
"At one stage, we were feeling 140-150 and as the game went on, we got some runs in the middle, me and Surya. We got that partnership, then we said another 25 runs more. I can set the target in my mind, but I don't want to let anyone know about it, to the batters ... because ... they are all all instinctive players and I want them to go out there and play freely without thinking too much about what's the par score.
We bat well, we understand the condition well, we will get to a good score and that's exactly what happened. We got to 170 which I thought was a very good score on that pitch and then the bowlers were fantastic."
He also praised the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, who both picked three wickets each.
Rohit also said that India's strength in this tournament has been the way they have adapted to the conditions.
"We adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging, we had to adapt and that's been the success story for us so far till this game. We have adapted to the conditions really well, played the conditions really well. The bowlers and the batters, if they play according to the conditions, things falls in place and that's exactly what happened for us today."
England skipper Jos Buttler admitted that his team was totally outplayed by India.
"India certainly outplayed us. We let them get 20-25 runs too many. It was a challenging surface that they played well on. They outplayed us and fully deserved the win."
Summing up the tournament for England, Buttler said: "We've had lots of adversities throughout the competition, we stuck well together as a group, played some really good cricket in patches but came up short when it mattered the most."
The Player Of The Match Axar Patel said that he tried to bowl slower and it worked.
"I have bowled in the powerplay in the past, so I had to bowl in the powerplay, that was the plan. The wicket was stopping and keeping low, so tried to bowl in the right areas. The wicket was slow, so I tried to bowl slower in this match, it worked for me. Wouldn't have worked had I bowled quicker, would have been easier for their batters."
He also said that he was not thinking of Barbados (final's venue) just yet and wanted to celebrate his performance against England.
India meet South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday, June 29 in Barbados.
