'Being in the Super Eight is a big relief. Playing cricket here wasn't easy (as) it could have been anyone's game. We had to stick through till the end in all three games.'
India skipper Rohit Sharma admitted it wasn't easy playing on a two-paced newly-laid drop-in pitch at the Nassau County ground in New York and the team had to battle it out till the end to win each of their three matches in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
India recorded the highest successful chase in the T20 World Cup at the venue on Wednesday when they scored 111 for 3 in reply to the USA's 110 for 8 after Arshdeep Singh (4/9), Suryakumar Yadav (50 not out) and Shivam Dube (31) played key roles.
“We knew it would be tough. Credit to us for the way we held our nerve and got that partnership. Credit to Surya and Dube for showing the maturity and taking us through,” said Rohit after the match.
The skipper seemed more relieved than happy that they crossed the first hurdle at the global meet.
“Being in the Super Eight is a big relief. Playing cricket here wasn't easy (as) it could have been anyone's game. We had to stick through till the end in all three games. We will take a lot of confidence from these wins,” he added.
Rohit had praise for each of the three key performers while applauding Suryakumar for changing his aggressive approach to anchor the chase.
“He (Suryakumar) showed he has a different game to him; that's what you expect from experienced players. Credit to the way he stuck through today to take the game deep and win it for us.
“We knew bowlers had to take the lead (as) run scoring was difficult. All the bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep,” he added after India beat the United States by seven wickets and qualified for the Super Eight.
Rohit said since the seamers were expected to dominate, the team decided to give Dube a chance to roll his arm over too.
“You want options and we should be able to use them as and when we can. Today, the pitch favoured the seamers so wanted to use him. A lot of these guys have played cricket together; very happy to see their progress. Saw them last year in MLC as well, they are all hard-working guys,” Rohit said, while talking about the USA’s players.
Having produced best T20I figures for India, Arshdeep said he wanted to make full use of a seam-friendly surface.
“In the last two games I gave away little more runs, (and I) wasn't happy with that. The team always shows belief in me and keep backing me, I had to deliver for them.
“The wicket is very conducive to fast bowlers and it's helping us get some seam movement. The plan was simple, pitch it in the wicket and let the ball do the talking. Don't give easy balls to score, our batsmen are also facing difficulties to score runs,” he said.
Talking further about his bowling plans, the left-arm seamer said, “The plan was to hit the hard lengths. In conditions like this, you can use the wicket more.”
The USA's stand-in skipper Aaron Jones, meanwhile, felt his side was competitive but fell a few runs short.
“(We were) 10-15 runs short. If we got 130 then it would have been a tough total, that's how it goes sometimes. The boys were very disciplined, really proud of the bowling unit,” he said.
“(It) feels good, this is what we wanted for USA cricket, enjoying it. We will recalibrate now, have a few meetings and come back strong,” he added.
Jones said the USA's regular skipper Monank Patel should be fit in time for their last game against Ireland.
“Mostly, he should be fit for the last game, just got a slight niggle.”
