India skipper Rohit Sharma plays one square of the wicket

Not a great start

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India didn’t get off to a great start, losing the out of sorts Virat Kohli in the third over to the towering left-arm quick Reece Topley, missing an agricultural hoick balls after unleashing an imperiously wristy whip-drive over wide long-on for six. It extended Kohli’s miserable run in the tournament to a seventh innings; he now has 75 runs and been dismissed five times in single-digits. In five previous T20 World Cups between 2012 and 2022, Kohli made only two single-digit scores.

Also Read: Rohit claims India 'always under pressure' to end World Cup drought

Rohit supreme again

Fortunately for India, beaten at the same stage in the last edition by England, Rohit continued his supreme form. Coming off 92 against Australia on a far better batting surface in Gros Islet, Rohit tailored his game to meet the demands of the situation without losing sight of the fact that he needed to keep the board moving. There was even a rare reverse sweep against leggie Adil Rashid, though he did also see Rishabh Pant tamely flick Sam Curran to mid-wicket.

Rohit had moved to 37 off 26 and his Mumbai mate Suryakumar Yadav was keeping him company on 13 when the skies opened up, some 37 minutes into the innings. At the extended interruption, India were 65 for two in eight overs, with no one quite sure what a good score would be amid all the potential stoppages.