"They Ruined November 19...": Rohit Sharma On Team India's Mindset While Playing Australia

November 19 is a date that most fans of Indian cricket do not remember fondly. After an invincible World Cup campaign, India suffered heartbreak in the final, losing to Australia on November 19, 2023. However, some months later, India exacted somewhat of a revenge when they defeated Australia in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma, India's ODI captain, reflected on the feeling he had after the defeat in the World Cup final, and what it meant to beat Australia en route to the T20 World Cup title.

Rohit pioneered India's victory over Australia in the T20 World Cup. Batting first, Rohit smashed 92 runs off just 41 balls, taking India to a daunting total of 205 in 20 overs. Australia ultimately felt 24 runs short, receiving a major blow to their semi-final hopes.

Rohit looked back on his knock:

"The anger was always there. It was in the back of my mind," said Rohit, in an interview with Star Sports.

"Inhone hamaara 19 November kharaab kar diya, humaara nahi poore desh ka (They ruined November 19 for us. Not only for us, but also for the entire country). We should reserve something for them. We should also give them a nice gift. You have such thoughts in your mind," Rohit added.

Rohit smashed Australian pacer Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in the third over of the innings. Starc was taken to the cleaners, being slammed for four sixes and a boundary in that one over.

Rohit clarified that the idea of avenging their World Cup final defeat only happened before the match, and not while actually playing.

"But when you're batting, you're not thinking, 'I want to knock them out of the tournament'. Yes, in the dressing room we keep talking about these things. There's that kind of fun that, yes, inko bahar karte hai, maza aayega (let's knock them out, it'll be fun)," Rohit said.

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Cricket