Ahead of final clash against S Africa, Rohit asks team to stay ‘calm and composed’

Skipper praises Team India's calmness under pressure as they beat England to enter the T20 World semifinal

Georgetown: Skipper Rohit Sharma has lauded Team India’s calmness under pressure as they beat England to enter the T20 World semifinal and has urged his side to maintain the same mindset in the summit clash against South Africa.

India clinched their place in the T20 World Cup final with a 68-run victory over England on Thursday. Next, they head to Kensington Oval in Barbados to take on the Proteas, the only other unbeaten team in the tournament.

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Moreover, India is aiming to break their recent drought at ICC tournaments and add a second T20 World Cup trophy to the one they claimed in South Africa in 2007. “We’ve been very calm as a team. I know that we do understand the occasion. It’s a big occasion. But for us, it’s important that we keep calm because I thought staying calm and composed helps you make good decisions. And that is what will be required as well.”

“We’ve got to keep making good decisions throughout the 40 overs and that will help us making the game through. And I thought in this game as well, we were very steady, we were very calm. We didn’t panic too much. And that has been the key for us,” Rohit said after the match.

“We need to understand that occasion. Yes, it’s quite important, but you know, you got to play cricket as well. You got to play good cricket as weld and that will allow you when you’re very composed in your mind, you know, and that is what we want to do in the finals as well,” he added.

Rohit termed the semifinal win over England as “very satisfying”, since it was a rematch of the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal in Adelaide, where India had suffered a ten-wicket defeat.

“Very satisfying actually to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit to come through this stage and to win this game like that was a great effort from everybody,” he said. Rohit also praised the Indian spinners for halting England’s progress in the chase, specifically mentioning Axar and Kuldeep.