“We didn’t bat well enough,” Rohit said on the host broadcast after the game. “Halfway through, we were in a good position, 80 for 3 [81 for 3]. You expect guys to stitch partnerships, but we didn’t put enough partnerships there.
“I thought we fell 15-20 short. We spoke about how every run matters on a pitch like that. We were looking at 140, but I thought the bowlers can [do], and did, the job for us.”
As for Pakistan, they went from 80 for 3 at the start of the 15th to 113 for 7 after 20 to fall six short.
“We felt we were a little under par,” Bumrah said. “When the sun came out, the wicket got a bit better. So we had to be disciplined with what we were trying to do. I tried to keep it simple, the wicket got better, and the swing was less. So I tried to hit the seam as much as I can. I just tried to be clear with my plan and focused on my execution.”
Rohit talked up India’s “never-say-die” attitude on a New York surface he felt was “good” compared to those in the earlier games. “With only 119 on the board, we wanted to make early inroads, which we didn’t,” he said. “Halfway through, I got everyone together. We said if things can happen to us, it can happen to them as well.”
“We need everyone to show up. Those little contributions make a huge difference. Whoever had the ball in hand wanted to make a contribution for the team”
Rohit Sharma
Axar, in particular, bowled an excellent 16th over that went for just two runs, even though the match-up of bowling to Imad Wasim, a left-hand batter, could have worked against him.
“Absolutely! That’s what’s required in a tournament like this,” Rohit said of his bowlers. “We need everyone to show up. Those little contributions make a huge difference. Whoever had the ball in hand wanted to make a contribution for the team.
“Bumrah is going from strength to strength. We’ve seen him over the years what he can do, I’m not going to talk too much about him. We want him to be in that kind of mindset till the end of the World Cup. He’s a genius with the ball, we know that, but hats off to the other guys as well.”
