India captain Rohit Sharma had a disappointing outing with the bat against Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Since arriving in Australia, Rohit Sharma hasn't looked his usual self and has failed to fire in three of the four matches the Men in Blue have played so far in the premier tournament. After registering single-digit scores against Pakistan, and South Africa, Rohit Sharma was once again dismissed cheaply against the Shakib Al Hasan-led side.

Rohit Sharma looked tentative from the outset with Bangladesh speedster Taskin Ahmed posing problems for him with his express pace and movement in the air. With Rohit Sharma looking extremely uncomfortable against Taskin Ahmed, he tried to break the shackles. But failed in his attempt to smack the ball over the park, Rohit Sharma only managed to hit it straight into the hands of Hasan Mahmud who dropped a sitter to provide him a massive reprieve. But the dropped catch didn't prove too costly for Bangladesh as the 35-year-old departed in the following over bowled by Hasan Mahmud himself.

Indian supporters were left dejected with Rohit Sharma's flop show against Bangladesh. They took to Twitter to vent out their anger on him by posting memes, mocking the India opener for his dismal showing in Adelaide.

 

Despite Rohit Sharma's low score in the match, India managed to put up a strong total on the board. Thanks to KL Rahul's return to form and Virat Kohli's third fifty in the event, India gave Bangladesh a target of 185 to win the contest. While KL Rahul slammed a whirlwind 50 off 32 deliveries, Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 64 off 44 balls.

Chasing a monstrous total, Bangladesh got off to a flier with Liton Das firing on all cylinders from the word go. Liton Das took the Indian bowling attack by storm as he smashed the second-quickest fifty of the 2022 T20 World Cup, completing his half-century in only 21 balls.

But once he was sent packing by a direct hit from KL Rahul, the whole complexion of the game changed and India eventually won the encounter by 5 runs.

The victory also sealed India's place at the top of Group 2.

After the match, Rohit Sharma lauded the efforts of his team but one man – Virat Kohli was singled out for the side's superb run in the T20 World Cup.

Taking a swipe at Virat Kohli's critics, including the legendary Kapil Dev who had campaigned for the talismanic batter's removal from India's T20I team, Rohit Sharma said that the Delhi-born cricketer was always close to his best and it was just a matter of a couple of good knocks.

“In my opinion he was always there, it was a matter of few innings here and there, he got it in the Asia Cup. We never had any doubts and the way he has been batting in this World Cup has been tremendous and he is really doing it for us (on Kohli),” Rohit Sharma said after India's win.

Rohit Sharma was impressed with KL Rahul as well who hadn't let his bat do the talking in India's previous three matches.

“Also liked the way how KL played today. We know what sort of a player he is, if he bats the way he can, he puts the team in a different position. Our fielding was brilliant, some of the catches we took was great to watch. It's a high-pressure game, to take those catches shows the ability of our guys and honestly I never had any doubts about our fielding,” Rohit Sharma added.

The India skipper also heaped rich praise on left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh who successfully defended 19 runs in the final over of the match, helping the 2007 T20 world champions to a 5-run victory over the Bangla Tigers.

“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,” Rohit Sharma revealed.

The Men in Blue will face Zimbabwe in their last group game in Melbourne on Sunday.