Rohit asks team to give their best ahead of arch-rival Ind-Pak match

New York: India captain Rohit Sharma emphasized the need for each of his players to give their best possible shot against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup encounter at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday to make the weekend memorable for the home fans.

India have always dominated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup matches. In the seven games played between them in the tournament, India prevailed in six while Pakistan only won one. "I don't want to rely on one or two individuals to win us the game. I think all 11 of us need to contribute. Of course, there are key players who are going to play key roles for us but I think everyone needs to chip in whatever they can, however they can in their best possible way," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference on the eve of the encounter.

The opening batter added that Virat Kohli's experience will be crucial for them in the exhilarating showdown. "(Virat) didn't play the Bangladesh [warm-up] game but he's had enough training under his belt before this game...the kind of experience that he has, playing all over the world, playing in big tournaments, nothing can beat that," Rohit said. Talking about the unpredictable nature of pitches in New York, he said the team playing better cricket will win the match as the wicket "behaves differently on different days."

"New York is not our home ground. We have played two matches here but we don’t have much awareness about its nature. It behaves differently on different days, so even the curator is confused. "So, you can imagine the kind of thinking we need to put in. We don’t know on which pitch we are playing (against Pakistan), so whoever plays better cricket will win the match,” he added.

After India's match against Ireland, ICC had issued a statement acknowledging the inconsistency of the pitches at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium and promised to "deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches".

Source: IANS