 "T20 World Cup 2024: Purely set for India? Vaughan cries foul; Rohit defends")
The Indian cricket team finally entered the final of an ICC tournament on Friday after a gap of 10 years with a commanding win over defending champions England at Providence Stadium in Guyana. India is set to play against South Africa, who will be playing their first final match in ICC tournaments, in Barbados on June 29.
Even before India were set to play against England in the semifinal, comments flooded in about the scheduling and how the Indian cricket team only played day games throughout the tournament.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was the first to react to India's successful campaign at the T20 World Cup 2024 even before the semifinal clash.
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Vaughan criticised the ICC for a lack of planning, noting the absence of a reserve day for the India vs England semifinal and the Men In Blue already knew they would play the semifinal in at a certain venue.
"Well, it's their tournament, isn't it? Literally, it's that. You know that. They get to play whenever they want, they know where their semifinal is, they play every single game in the morning so people can watch them at night, obviously in India on TV," Vaughan remarked.
India's Preparations for T20 World Cup
After the 2023 ODI World Cup debacle, the Indian team management meticulously planned and selected their squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Questions over scheduling, focusing mainly on India, need to be reconsidered given India played extraordinary cricket on their way to the final.
It's not like India got favourable conditions throughout the tournament. Three of their four matches were played at New York Stadium, whose pitch was not as per the international standard, with batters failing even to manoeuvre strike most of the time.
Low scores and a team defending the target gave them a chance during the New York leg.
| Pacers vs Spinners at New York Stadium | |||||||
| Overs | Maidens | Wickets | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4-wicket hauls | |
| Pacers | 236.1 | 9 | 82 | 15.71 | 5.45 | 17.2 | 3 |
| Spinners | 61.2 | 0 | 15 | 25.46 | 6.22 | 24.5 | 0 |
Rohit Sharma on Knowing the Venue for Semifinal
On the eve of the India vs England semifinal, Rohit Sharma stated it was not an advantage for Team India as the Three Lions had played at the venue before.
"I don't think it's an advantage – I mean a lot of these players have played in different types of venues. I'm sure a lot of these English cricketers have played at this venue. So, I don't see this as an advantage," said the India captain in the press conference.
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