Performance in one key match will not define a player: Rohit

ADELAIDE: India skipper Rohit Sharma understands the criticism about his underwhelming numbers in crunch matches, but would not appreciate if he or any other player is defined by failure in an odd high-stakes game.

Rohit has struggled to make substantial contributions while competing in knockout matches at ICC events over the years. When asked if below-par performances in important games bother him, Rohit was not amused. “Not just me, but all the players, what they have done in their entire career, one knockout game does not define them,” Rohit said as he gears up to lead India in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England.

“The entire year, you work so hard to get where you want to and do well in whichever format you play. So, that one particular game is not going to decide it,” Rohit insisted.

Rohit’s leadership philosophy when it comes to multi-team events is simple – end result should be more than the sum total of its parts.

“But again, it is just a phase. It is just one phase of the tournament. We know that there are two crucial phases of it. You have to break it into parts. We have done one part of it really well. There are two more parts to go. But, tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be one part of it where we have to play well to get the result,” Rohit said.

Suryakumar has been best batter of the tourney: Buttler

A free mindset has helped Suryakumar Yadav emerge as the “batter of the tournament”, but it takes “one chance to create a wicket”, said England captain Jos Buttler.

Suryakumar has scored three fifties in just five matches in the global tournament. “He has been great to watch, has he not? I think that he is someone who has probably been the batter of the tournament so far in terms of the way you want to watch someone go about it,” Buttler told reporters. “But as with any batsman in the world, it takes one chance to create a wicket. We desperately need to find a way to do that,” added Buttler.

While 165 has been the par score at the Adelaide Oval for teams batting first, Buttler does not want to rely on numbers alone.

“If we bat first, we want to post a score that cannot be chased. Obviously, we will be confident to chase anything down batting second. Historically, I think that if you look at the stats, it shows about 165 is around the par score here, but I am not really interested in the par score. I am interested in a winning score,” stressed Buttler.

Kohli gets hit in training

Virat Kohli sustained a nasty blow in the groin area during Wednesday’s net session, but the team heaved a sigh of relief as the India batter was back to the nets within a few minutes. Meanwhile, skipper Rohit Sharma, who got hit on the right forearm on Tuesday, confirmed that he is fully fit. “I was hit, but it seems to be fine now. There was a little bruising, but it is absolutely fine now,” Rohit said.