Huge challenge to adjust to length, shot making at Adelaide Oval: Indian cricket team captain Sharma

ADELAIDE: The dimensions at the picturesque Adelaide Oval are different as compared to other grounds in Australia. Depending on which used pitch will be picked for Thursday's semifinal between India and England at the T20 World Cup, the square boundaries are around 57-67 metres, while the straight boundaries are longer, in between 79-88 metres.

In this situation, India have a slight edge over England, having played their tense five-run win over Bangladesh via DLS method at this venue last week. England, on the other hand, will be playing at the Adelaide Oval for the first time in the competition.

India skipper Rohit Sharma noted that the change in dimensions ahead of the semifinals required a shift in mindset for batters as well as bowlers at Adelaide Oval, while believing the advantage of having played here earlier would help them on Thursday.

"That's one of the challenges that we have had in this tournament. Usually when you play — for example, last year in Dubai, the dimension of the ground didn't change too much. We know there was one side bigger, but other than that, not too many things changed.

"But when we play here in Australia, obviously some of the grounds have longer, straighter boundaries, some of the grounds have smaller on the sides. So you've got to adjust to it as quickly as possible.

"Guys have not been here before. For them, it's a huge challenge to adjust to that length and the shot making, as well. I think we adapted to that pretty nicely. We were put under pressure in some of the games, but I thought we responded to that pressure really well," said the right-handed opener in the pre-match press conference. IANS

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