Star Australian left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc opened up about the all-out attack by Rohit Sharma during the Super 8 fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024 between India and Australia. The Indian skipper's onslaught included smacking Starc for 28 runs in his second over of the game.
In a memorable over, Rohit began with a monstrous hit over deep extra cover and followed it up with another boundary in the same area. He continued the carnage with a boundary and two sixes, leading to Starc conceding 29 runs from the over, including an extra run from a wide. This became the most expensive over in Starc's T20I career.
Reflecting on the brutal assault, Starc noted how Rohit used the wind to his advantage and punished every bad ball. "I've played a lot against him. He had a good tournament, especially in our game. I think he targeted that wind in St. Lucia as well. If you look at the runs from each end, one end went for a lot more than the other. I bowled from that end. I bowled five bad balls, and he hit them all for six," Starc shared on the Willow Talk podcast.
Despite the onslaught, Starc managed to dismiss Rohit with a brilliant yorker and ended his spell with figures of 2/45 in four overs. Rohit’s breathtaking innings of 92 off 41 balls, which included seven fours and six sixes, became the second-highest score by an Indian player in T20 World Cup history and the second-highest by a captain in the tournament.
Rohit's explosive batting helped India post a formidable total of 205/5 in their 20 overs. In response, Australia could only muster 181/7, falling short by 24 runs. This defeat proved costly for the 2021 champions, as Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh in their last Super 8 fixture knocked Australia out of the tournament.