Players cannot be taught how to handle pressure, said India captain Rohit Sharma, after his team was eliminated from the T20 World Cup on Thursday, November 10. England gave India a 10-wicket defeat after the openers knocked down 169 runs in just 16 overs.
"It's all about handling the pressure in knockout games. All these guys have played enough to understand that. These guys have played under pressure in IPL games, it's all about keeping calm. We were nervy to start with, but you got to give credit to their openers, they played really well," Rohit said in post-match presentation.
India were below par on the day, both with their bowling unit and their batting in Adelaide.
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"When we won the first game, it showed a lot of character. The game against Bangladesh, it was a tricky one. I thought it was difficult defending 85 runs in 9 overs, 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," he added.
Earlier in the the day, India got off to another poor start, courtesy of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, but came back strongly in the final few overs to score a respectable total of168 runs.
Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli aided India's momentum after 10 overs, but Buttler and Hales dashed all of their intentions. The openers pounced on India's pacers early in the game, scoring 63 runs in the first six overs.
Hales and Buttler destroyed the bowlers all over the park and went on to post the greatest ever semi-final partnership in T20 World Cup history, assisting England to a 10-wicket victory. The openers scored 170 runs in 16 overs to knock India out of the competition.
Jos Buttler, who took over as England captain after Eoin Morgan retired, has been struggling with his form leading up to the T20 World Cup. The captain came up big on the day, scoring 80 off 49 balls, while Hales was unbeaten on 86 off 47 balls.
England will take on Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup final at MCG on Sunday, November 13.
READ| T20 World Cup: India crash out in semis, England win by 10 wickets to join Pakistan in final
