T20 World Cup: Rohit breaks into tears, Pandya expresses grief after India's embarrassing exit
India suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2022 against England on Thursday. While the Indian fans were disappointed by the loss, Indian players too were seen as unhappy.
"Devastated, gutted, hurt", expressed star all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Pandya smashed a brilliant 33-ball 63 to lift India to a decent 168/6. However, England knocked off the target in 16 overs.
"Devastated, gutted, hurt. Tough to take, for all of us. To my teammates, I’ve enjoyed the bond that we built - we fought for each other every step of the way. Thank you to our support staff for their endless dedication and hard work for months on end," he tweeted.
"To our fans who backed us everywhere we went, we’re forever grateful. It wasn’t meant to be but we’ll reflect and keep fighting."
Rohit Sharma also broke down in tears after the defeat.
Rohit Sharma after the match:
"Pretty disappointed with how it turned up today. We batted well at the backend to get that score. We were not up to the mark with the ball, we couldn't turn up today. It's all about handling the pressure in knockout games. I thought it swung a bit in the first over, but not from the right areas. We know the runs are scored square off the wicket, we were aware of it. I thought it was difficult defending 85 runs in 9 overs (against Bangladesh), but we held our nerve and executed our plans. Couldn't do that today, and when you don't execute your plans, you are in trouble."
England skipper Jos Buttler praised Team India's batting.
"I think the way they played in the back 10 overs they scored heavily in that period, which I think showed what a good wicket it was. The dimensions can be tough to defend, as well.So yeah, I was confident in the wicket," he said.
"I thought the first 12, 14 overs of our bowling innings was outstanding. I think taking that early wicket, the way we set them back, and the way we held them to put a lot of pressure.Fantastic innings from Hardik Pandya get them up to that score."
India's next assignment will be the limited overs tour of New Zealand where they will play three T20Is, and as many ODIs, starting November 18
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