T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma makes special mention of KL Rahul after India's win

India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday made a special mention of KL Rahul after their close victory over Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2022.

Rahul's place in the Indian team was questioned in the ICC tournament after scoring 4, 9, and 9 in India's last three games. However, the Karnataka batsman bounced back and proved his critics wrong by registering a crucial half-century at Adelaide Oval.

It was reported on Tuesday that Virat Kohli and head coach Rahul Dravid were closely monitoring Rahul's net sessions, while the former was also seen giving tips to the opening batsman. The hard work seemed to have paid off as Rahul struck four sixes and three fours in his knock of 50 off 32 balls.

"The way KL batted as well, it was important for him and the team. We know what sort of player he is at the top of the order," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

Half-centuries from Rahul and Kohli, and a quick-fire 30 off 16 balls from Suryakumar Yadav helped India to post 184 for 6 in 20 overs. In reply, Liton Das gave Bangladesh a flying start as the Tigers were 66 for no loss in seven overs before rain interrupted the play in Adelaide. Subsequently, Bangladesh's target was revised to 161 off 16 overs.

The equation went down to 31 off the final two overs and then Bangladesh needed 20 off the last six balls. The match went down to the wire as Arshdeep was hit for a four and a six but India eventually sealed the game by five runs.

Rohit revealed that he had make a choice between Arshdeep and Mohammed Shami for the final over. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the T20 World Cup due to a back injury, India have been preparing the 23-year-old Arshdeep to bowl in the death over and Rohit decided to back the pacer on Wednesday.

"I was calm and nervous at the same time, but it was important to stay calm as a group to execute. Shortened games can go either way, but we held our nerves well after the game started, it was a good win in the end. Arshdeep, when he came into the scene, we asked him to do the death overs for us. With Bumrah not there, it was a tough job for someone to take up.

"For a young guy to come and do that kind of a job is not easy, we've prepared him. He's been doing it for 8-9 months. I had to back someone who had been doing it regularly, it was a choice between Shami and Arshdeep," added Rohit in the same presentation.

Speaking about Kohli, who clinched his second Man of the Match award this tournament, Rohit said that he always knew it was just a matter of few innings for Kohli to return to his form.

"In my mind, Kohli was always there. It was just a matter of a few innings here and there, and he hasn't looked back since the Asia Cup. The guy has so much experience. Some of the catches we took today were great to watch. When you're playing in front of a big crowd it's not easy. To take those catches, it shows the character of the guys. I have no doubts over our fielding abilities," said Rohit.

T20 World Cup: Losing to India has become our story, says Shakib Al-Hasan

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al-Hasan pointed out that Bangladesh have made it a habit of not being able to win close games against India. Shakib also praised Liton Das, who kept Bangladesh in the game till he was at the crease. The opening batsman hit three sixes and seven fours in his knock of 60 off 27 deliveries at an incredible strike-rate of 222.22.

"It's been the story when we play against India, we are almost there but we don't finish the line. Both teams enjoyed it, it was a great game and that's what we wanted. At the end, someone has to win and someone has to lose. He's [Litton Das] our best batter going around. The way he batted in the powerplay gave us a lot of momentum and gave us the belief that we could chase this with the short boundaries here. If you look at India's top four, they are very dangerous.

"Our plan was to get those 4 and that's why we bowled Taskin through. Unfortunately, he did not pick wickets but he was very economical. Not much, we have been very relaxed and not talking too much about cricket in this World Cup. We have one more match to go and we want to concentrate on that," added Shakib.

India and Bangladesh have one game each left in the Super 12s. Team India next takes on Zimbabwe on Sunday (Nov. 6) in Melbourne, while Bangladesh remain in Adelaide to face off against Pakistan, also on Sunday.