T20 World Cup 2024: Play freely and not think too much on what’s lying ahead – Rohit Sharma reveals semifinals plans

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma wants the team to continue the good show in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024 against England. Team India confirmed their semifinal berth with a 24-run win against Australia at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on Monday.

India had lost to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal as their batting approach was timid. However, Rohit Sharma showed his team how they need to bat when he clobbered 92 runs off just 41 balls against the mighty Australians. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Match for his blistering knock.

Asked to bat first, India posted a par score of 205 runs on the board as they adopted an aggressive approach. Rohit led the way as he smashed seven fours and eight sixes in his whirlwind knock. Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 16), Shivam Dube (28 off 22) and Hardik Pandya (27 off 17) also played vital knocks for the team.

Meanwhile, India hasn’t been able to seal the crunch situations of the big matches in the last 11 years and they will be determined to bring their A-game against England.

Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “We don’t want to do anything different, play the same way and understand what each person has to do. Play freely and do not think too much about what’s lying ahead. Not think about the opposition. We have been doing it consistently, just need to continue.”

On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav returned with impressive figures of 2-24 in his quota of four overs. Yadav got the big wicket of Glenn Maxwell, who was looking dangerous, and also dismissed a well-settled Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh.

Rohit lauded Kuldeep as he added, “We know the strength he has, but we need to use him when necessary. In New York, there were seamer-friendly wickets. He had to miss out but we knew he had a big role to play out here.”

India will face England in the semifinals at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday.