Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 26 : India's T20 World Cup winning skipper Rohit Sharma capturing the short format's biggest prize for Men in Blue last year, calling it the "best moment of his life" where "each over had its own story".
On June 29, 2024 in Barbados, India ended a 11-year-long ICC Trophy drought, beating South Africa by seven runs to capture the ICC T20 World Cup title for the second time. This was Rohit's 2nd ICC T20 WC title and his first ICC title as a captain, after the heartbreak of losing to Australia in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home following a ten-match win-streak.
Speaking about his emotions before the match, he said on JioHotstar during the 'Champions Waali Feeling Phir Se' programme, "13 saal is a lot of time. People do not have careers this long. The last time I won a World Cup was in 2007. To wait that long for a WC win, it could not have been anything bigger. Before the match, I did not sleep the whole night, I felt the nerves, and could not feel my legs. I was just thinking about the World Cup. When I woke up, I was thinking about the result. I remember walking to the ground, just sipping on coffee, not talking to anyone. There was forecast for rain, but I wanted the game to start and end on time since there was so much nervousness, I could not wait for the reserve day and go through those same emotions.
India had elected to bat first, but was reduced to 34/3, which led to the 'Hitman', as he said, "panicking". But it was another clutch effort from Virat Kohli, who had a pretty dull tournament till then, that calmed everyone down. Three boundaries within the first few balls he faced was an ominous sign that Team India's biggest match-winner in past T20 WCs was going to be at his best. He also had a fine 72-run stand with Axar Patel, who played a counter-attacking 47 in 31 balls, with a four and four sixes. Virat clobbered 76 in 59 balls, with six fours and two sixes. India reached a fighting 176/7 in their 20 overs.
"If you hit three boundaries in the first over, then you've started well. That's what every cricketer wants. It relieves you. The experience of playing for India for so many years helps. You can control your emotions, control your thoughts, and stay in the moment," said Rohit on Virat.
"I am sure he was thinking the same: 'Today is the day I need to be focused.' Not worrying about what happened before. And he played a brilliant innings--a fantastic partnership with Axar. After losing those three wickets up front, there were obviously a lot of nerves in the dressing room."
"I was panicking. I wasn't comfortable. I thought we'd let them into the game. Of course, in the back of my mind, I always believed our lower middle order--although it hadn't batted much during the tournament--had made an impact whenever given the opportunity," he continued.
Rohit also hailed the Axar knock as a "game-changer" and lauded Virat for keeping one end steady.
"Then we had Shivam (27 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six), Axar, and Hardik (5* in two balls), who came in and played their parts. I thought it was a very good total," Rohit said.
Speaking on the final, Rohit said, "Every over had its own story. There was so much happening, and I had to be spot on with my changes."
On the delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, which landed India their first wicket of Reeza Hendricks, Rohit hailed it as a "peach of a delivery".
"Unplayable. A batter could hardly do anything. When you want to win a match, you have to win the powerplay," he added.
The match hung in balance with a partnership of 58 runs between Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs and a 15th over onslaught on Axar by Klaasen, during which he hit 24 runs, left the game in favour of Proteas, who needed 30 in the final 30 balls.
"It was the biggest over. There were so many runs scored. Klaasen converted so many good balls into bad balls. This is his class. I was thinking (of bringing someone else) of it when It was happening. It is not that I curse myself for that decision. I was right. Sometimes, in sports, everything does not go your way. That is what we love about the sport," he added.
But in the 16th over, Hardik produced what described by Rohit, the "ideal T20 ball" to remove Klaasen for a well-made 52 in 27 balls, which had two fours and five sixes.
"Ideal T20 ball, perfectly pitched in the area and the wider line. You could not hit it four or six, just a single. It was not too short or too high. We knew they had Marco (Jansen) and (Keshav) Maharaj. Cricket is a funny game, you cannot take it for granted. But I felt it was time to squeeze them and feel the pressure, where they will make mistakes. It is not easy for new batters to play shots right from the start," he added.
From then on, India continued to apply pressure, with the match-sealing moment being Suryakumar Yadav's stunning catch, which saw him go out of the boundary ropes before pulling the delivery back within the ropes and catching it to dismiss a dangerous David Miller in the final over.
Rohit admitted that he thought it was a six. "Everyone's heart was in their mouth. I thought it was a six, I was standing opposite to Surya. It would have taken a lot of effort to take the catch. But the wind pulled the ball into the ground. Umpires were checking, and I asked him (Surya), "Tu hi bata"," he added.
SA was reduced to 169/8, despite their best efforts.
On the title win, he said, "It was by far the best moment of my life, of my cricketing career, to lift the trophy.
"It meant so much to all of us, to that group. We had experienced the heartbreak of coming so close and falling short. That is why it was special. We planned meticulously. We worked hard every single day, constantly thinking about how to win the World Cup.
"That is why every player's emotions came pouring out on that day," he concluded.