India’s eight-wicket win over Ireland in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener on Wednesday got soured a bit as captain Rohit Sharma trudged off the field mid-way during batting. Rohit left the ground after suffering a blow on his upper arm from a delivery bowled by pacer Josh Little at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Before retiring hurt, Rohit scored 52 off 37 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes to give India a perfect launching pad to chase down a paltry target of 97.

Rohit got hit on his upper arm on the second ball of the ninth over. The injury eventually forced him to move out of the field after the final ball of the 10th over.

The good news for India was that the injury was not serious. Rohit revealed about it after the game. “Yeah, just a little sore (the arm),” said the India captain.

Later in India’s innings, Rishabh Pant too copped a blow on his elbow on the first ball of the 11th over. That delivery was also bowled by Josh Little. Pant, however, continued his innings after receiving some treatment from the physio and finished off the match with a six.

The surface of Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, where the India vs Ireland match was played, received a lot of criticism for its vicious bounce while the extremely slow outfield was also at the receiving end of the critics’ fury.

“I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old. I don’t think the wicket settled down even when we batted second,” said Rohit.

“There was enough for the bowlers. That’s pretty much what you gotta do. Try to hit those lengths consistently. All these guys have played a lot of Test cricket. Arshdeep is the only guy who hasn’t. His two wickets upfront set the tone for us,” he added.

India are set to take on Pakistan at the same venue on June 9.

“I don’t know what to expect from the pitch to be honest. We will prepare as if the conditions are going to be like this (for Pakistan game). This is going to be a kind of game where all XI of us will need to contribute. It was scratchy, but good to spend some time in the middle and understand what kind of shots to play there,” concluded the India captain.