Rohit Sharma was elated with India’s performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture against Bangladesh on Saturday (June 1).
The Men in Blue outclassed the Tigers in all facets of the game and registered a comprehensive 60-run victory at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
Opting to bat first, India posted 182/5 on the board on the back of Rishabh Pant’s half-century (53 retd hurt off 32 balls) and handy contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 18) and Hardik Pandya (40* off 23).
In reply, the inaugural T20 World Cup champions restricted Bangladesh to 122/9 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh (2/12 in 3 overs), Shivam Dube (2/13 in 3 overs), Jasprit Bumrah (1/12 in 2 overs), Mohammed Siraj (1/17 in 3 overs), Hardik Pandya (1/30 in 3 overs) and Akshar Patel (1/10 in 2 overs) were among the wickets for India.
After the win, Rohit said India gained a lot out of the practice match and talked about the importance of the game in terms of getting used to the conditions in the United States.
“Quite happy with how things went. We pretty much got what we wanted from the game. It was important for us to get used to the conditions. It’s a new venue, new ground, drop in pitch and I thought we managed very well,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The Indian captain further stated that Pant was promoted to No.3 as they wanted to give him a chance to bat.
“We just wanted to give him an opportunity. We have not really nailed down what the batting lineup will look like, but we wanted most guys to get a chance in the middle. Getting used to the venue was quite important for us,” he added.
Rohit Sharma also lauded the Indian bowlers for stepping up. “Even the bowlers did very well. All in all, happy with how things went,” he remarked.
Team India will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York.