Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has come out in support of the Indian cricket team amidst the severe criticism the team is facing after their humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval at the hands of England. The Jos Buttler-led side shattered India’s hopes of winning the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy for the first time in 15 years with a stunning win.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team failed to defend the target of 169 runs, which England achieved in just 16 overs without losing any wickets, all thanks to the sensational performances of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales.
While Sachin Tendulkar backed team India after the exit, he also criticized the batting unit for the failure and stated that the total of 168 runs was simply not good enough on a ground like Adelaide where India’s boundaries are short. Tendulkar stated that the Indian side had put at least a score of 190 runs on the scoreboard. He said:
“The semifinal was really disappointing against England. And I’m in the same boat. We’re all well-wishers of Indian cricket. 168 at Adelaide wasn’t a great total because the dimensions of the ground are completely different. Side boundaries are really short, so 190 or so would have been a good total. 168 At Adelaide is equivalent to 150 or so on any other ground. To me, that is not a competitive total. Let’s accept that we did not put up a good total on the board,”
“So is the case with our bowling. When it came to picking wickets, we were unsuccessful. It was a tough game for us. 170 no loss (England’s score). That’s a bad defeat, rather disappointing,” he added.
However, Sachin Tendulkar urged the fans to not judge the team on one basis and also pointed out that India is the number one team in the ICC T20I rankings. Sachin stated that you only get to the number one position by playing consistent games for a long period of time and stated that the fans should stick together in such times. He said:
“Let us not judge our team only by this performance because we are the World No. 1 T20 side. It doesn’t happen overnight. You have to play good cricket over a period of time and that is what the team has done. By no means I’m trying to say that these kind of performances (like against England) are okay. These ups and downs are there so it I feel it cannot be in a victory is ours and losses are theirs. We have to be in it together,” Sachin concluded.
