Rohit Sharma said, "When you want to play the final, you want all your guys in form. That is something that gives us a lot of confidence. We will not think too much about it." Australian skipper Steve Smith believed they fell short of what would have been a challenging total by a good 20 runs
Rohit Sharma. Pic/PTI
Team India captain Rohit Sharma has always stressed on having six bowling options without touching the team's batting depth.
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Having needed to chase a target of 265 runs, Team India relied on stalwart Virat Kohli's 84-run knock and also on the crucial contributions from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. The "Men in Blue" registered a win by four-wicket haul and 11 balls to spare against Australia.
"That is something I really wanted, to have six bowling options and then batting till No. 8 as well. This is something we discussed while making the squad. Credit goes to everyone who were involved in making the team," Rohit Sharma said at the presentation ceremony.
Mohammed Shami claimed three wickets, whereas spin duo, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets, each.
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"Halfway through the game, we felt it was a reasonable score, and we have to bat really really well. I thought we were very clinical with the bat. We were very calm and composed. The wicket looked better, and that has been the nature of the surfaces."
"The one which played today was slightly better. We just want to play good cricket and not read too much into what the pitch is doing." Needless to say, Rohit lavished rich praise on his longtime teammate Kohli for anchoring yet another successful chase.
"He has done it for us for so many years. We were very calm. We wanted that big stand which Shreyas and Virat had. Then the shots by Hardik in the end were very important."
After sealing the final berth, Team India will now lock horns with the winners of the semi-final two, which is being played between South Africa and New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma said, "When you want to play the final, you want all your guys in form. That is something that gives us a lot of confidence. We will not think too much about it. When the time comes, we will think about it. I also want the guys to relax."
Australian skipper Steve Smith believed they fell short of what would have been a challenging total by a good 20 runs. "The bowlers did a really good job. The spinners squeezed them and took the game deeper. It was a tricky wicket to start on and we did a good job.
"It wasn't the easiest batting condition. We could have put a few more runs on the board. If we had 280-plus, it could have been different. We were one wicket down too many at each stage of the game," Smith said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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