It was during the T20 World Championships’ finale that Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, finally told of his most tense moment that made all the difference for the entire tournament.
India were facing an uphill task as South Africa closed in on victory needing just 30 runs from their last five overs with six wickets left. Heinrich Klaasen was at his best as he unleashed a flurry of shots against the Indian spinners; sending balls to all parts of the stadium. His blistering knock helped him reach a fifty off only 23 balls.
Rohit’s mind became blank right in crucial moments. The Indian skipper highlighted how important it is to be present in such five overs which changed everything.
“Yes, I was completely blank. I don’t look too far ahead. It is very important for me to stay in the moment and focus on what I have to do. We had to remain calm and try and execute our plans,” Rohit told an event in Dallas.
The India captain emphasized maintaining composure under pressure which played a key role behind their success.
“When we were under immense pressure when South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls, the five overs that we bowled showed how calm we were. We just focussed on our job not thinking much about anything else. We didn’t panic; that was very good from our side,” he added.
With only five overs remaining, India found themselves defending twenty-nine runs only – however their star bowler Jasprit Bumrah once again came to their rescue with able assistance from fellow pacers Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh.
Bumrah gave away just six runs in the last over and dismissed Marco Jansen who was threatening to take them home.
Arshdeep allowed ‘just’ four runs in his penultimate over. In one decisive blow Hardik removed Klaasen who had been looking threateningly dangerous since the beginning of this innings. The all-rounder then took it upon himself to bowl the final over and immediately got rid of the set David Miller in the first ball, thanks to a sensational catch by Suryakumar Yadav.
India went on to successfully seal the game after Miller’s dismissal, winning by seven runs and securing 2024 T20 World Cup title which brought an end to their ICC Trophy drought that had lasted for 11 years.