India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said his team is focussed on staying calm and keeping things simple in the high-pressure T20 World Cup semifinal against England in Georgetown , acknowledging that it has battled a fear of failure in the past. (Preview | Full Coverage)
"It is a bit of both," said Rohit when asked whether his side has been let down by fear of failure or bad luck in its past quests for a world title.
"We want to treat this as another game. We don't want to think about what lies ahead and what is the context of the game and all of that," he added.
"Everyone knows in the back of their mind it's a semi-final. But you don't want to keep talking about it again and again. I think the entire group is in good frame of mind. It is a knockout game. If you think too much it doesn't help."
After an unbeaten run in the ODI World Cup at home last year, India crumbled under pressure in the final against Australia. In this tournament too, India are yet to put a foot wrong.
"We are playing well as a team, enjoying each other's company, enjoying each other's success as well. I think it's important to just carry on that, carry on from what we've been doing in this tournament.
"Yes, we've been put under pressure in certain games during this tournament as well, but I thought we responded pretty well. And that is probably because we're not thinking too far ahead.
"Sometimes if you think too much, sometimes you then will not be able to make the decisions that you want to make on the field. So, I think it's important that we stay clear in our mind what we want to do. We have had enough conversations with the players.
"So, it's time now to just rely on the individual instinct," the 37-year-old captain said.
It all depends on conditions
Rohit has led from the front with his his ultra-aggressive batting approach, something he displayed prominently in the win over Australia in Saint Lucia.
But the way his team plays on Thursday will solely depend on conditions. Virat Kohli, who has not had the best of runs in the competition, and Rishabh Pant have tried to push the needle in every game but have not always got the desired results.
"It all depends on the conditions that are there in front of us. I know it sounds very boring for me to talk about conditions, because that do matter a lot.
"Because in New York, we saw what the winning score was. So there, for us to think, no, we'll go and spin it, we'll do this, we'll do that. It is not sensible. So, we want to be a smart cricket team.
"We don't want to just talk in one language, which is to just go and swing the bat. I have spoken about experience in this group, and we rely on that experience from each player to go out and make that decision.
"... Whether it is playing the reverse sweep, whether it is bowling a yorker, whether it is bowling a bouncer. We rely on those individuals to make that decision," said Rohit.
His legacy as captain
In the media interaction, his former teammate Ambati Rayudu too asked him a question related to his legacy as captain compared to his predecessors.
"See I think it's important to stay cool, calm when you're in this environment. That has worked for me over the years, staying calm and staying composed because I know that I have to make decisions on the field.
"But yeah, like sometimes you can lose your cool as well at the end of the day. I have had chats with everyone that I am happy to let you do what you want. But, at the end of the day, if I see it's at the cost of something big, I cannot let that happen.
"Indian cricket team goes through very high-pressure situations most of the time. Wherever we play, whether it's a bilateral series, ICC tournaments, Indian cricket team is always under pressure. That's the fact. It's been since the time I started playing.
"So, most of the guys are used to it. And then for us, it makes it more important then, to have a little bit of calmness in the dressing room while we are playing, in the hotels, and stuff like that," said the usually calm skipper.
Being a happy-go-lucky character, Rohit is always up for a laugh even at a packed press conference room before a high-pressure game.
Most satisfying thing about Australia win
So what was the most satisfying bit about the Australia win, which came on the back of his incredible 92-run knock?
"That there's no more Australian cricket team in this competition (laughs). No, look, I think Australia is a great side, without a doubt. That's probably the reason they have won so many championships.
"But for us, the last game, I think the confidence we played the game with, I think that is something that we can take away with us, that confidence of bowlers executing their plans, batters going out there and doing their job.
"I think this format is all about confidence.
"And personally, for me as well, I wanted to try and do something which I've been trying to do for a number of years, which is to try and put pressure on the bowlers in whatever way I can. And for me to do that was a great satisfaction at the end of the day. I was waiting for the game to end.
"That is when you feel that what you did there was very satisfying."
India knew they would be playing the semi-final in Guyana in advance but Rohit said that would not give his team edge over England.
"The only thing I'm worried is if the game goes on until pretty late, we have a charter flight. We might miss that flight, but that's OK. It's the ICC and the Cricket West Indies' headache to get us to the next venue," the skipper ended the interaction on a lighter note.
