Rohit Sharma was in the house as India defeated New Zealand to book their place in the T20 World Cup final. The former World Cup-winning captain, who led India to the title in the USA and West Indies two years ago, presented the silverware and handed over the match ball before the start of play, while his interactions with members of both the Indian and England camps stole the spotlight even before the first ball was bowled.
Rohit met and greeted his India teammates Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj and bowling coach Morne Morkel before heading to the England dugout. There, former stars Eoin Morgan and Brendon McCullum were left gobsmacked by Rohit’s physical transformation. Rohit shedding weight – close to 10 kilos and counting – is no secret. But as he continues to slim down in pursuit of his World Cup dream, every public appearance makes the change even more noticeable.
“In the shape of your life. What’s going on?” asked Morgan, to which Rohit replied, “Just chilling. However, it was McCullum’s remark that summed up the former India captain’s transformation. “Where’s the rest of you?” he remarked, to which Rohit aptly said, “It’s all gone”.
When Rohit met Surya, his words were a big confidence booster. When Surya asked, “Do you think we’ll be able to pull it off?”, Rohit replied, “Yeah, obviously! We played so well in the last match too.” He even told Morne Morkel not to worry, saying the wind would remain constant throughout the match.
India one step away from glory
This was the third straight T20 World Cup semi-final between India and England. In 2022, England romped home by 10 wickets before India gained their revenge two years later. Last night, Suryakumar’s heart would have been in his mouth as Jacob Bethell threatened to run away with the game, but Jasprit Bumrah’s final two overs, conceding just 15 runs, proved to be the game-changer. Having played all his IPL cricket at the Wankhede Stadium, Bumrah had familiar faces around him, including Rohit, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma – teammates he has shared the dressing room with at the MI – making it a fitting stage for him to produce another moment of magic.
India are now one step away from becoming the most successful T20I team in the world. If they beat New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad, India would become the only side to win the T20 World Cup three times. However, the Men in Blue will be wary of one troubling statistic: they have never beaten New Zealand in a T20 World Cup.
-1772777700377_d.png?w=218&resize=218,150&ssl=1 "Suryakumar Yadav admits tense finish as India secures spot in T20 WC final")
