Almost two weeks have passed since India lifted their second trophy in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, getting the better of South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who earned his second title in the event, since winning it in the inaugural season in 2007.
These are all happy moments for India. However, it could have been different, had South Africa shown some responsibility when they needed 30 runs at run-a-ball with six wickets in hand. In-form Heinrich Klassen and David Miller were still present at the crease.
Both India and the Proteas were coming into the final of the competition with an unbeaten streak, as the chase was getting tight, and was in the favor of the Aiden Markram-led side. Rohit Sharma was going through many thoughts at that moment.
‘I don’t look too far ahead’- Rohit Sharma
Winning the toss in the morning, on a slow surface, the Indian team decided to bat first to put runs on the board. They had a solid start with the bat in hand, as Virat Kohli got four boundaries in the first two overs of the contest to take them off to a flier.
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But Keshav Maharaj was successful in breaking the opening stand by dismissing Rohit Sharma, who was providing India with all the aggressive starts throughout the competition. The wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant fell in the same over, while Suryakumar Yadav was caged in the short-ball planning of Kagiso Rabada and co.
Axar Patel got a promotion to number five in the batting order. He managed to put up 72 runs in 54 balls with Kohli, before being dismissed on three short from his personal fifty. Shivam Dube contributed highly for his 27 runs in 16 balls with the help of three boundaries and one six, at a strike rate of 168.75.
Virat Kohli stood tall, holding one end of the crease for his 76-run knock in 59 balls, shouldering on six boundaries and a couple of sixes, with a strike rate of 128.81, to carry the team to 176/7 in their allotted 20-overs.
Jasprit Bumrah gave them a perfect start with the wicket of Reeza Henricks while Arshdeep Singh sent captain Markram back into the hut. But South Africa never allowed the required run rate to get out of their reach, as Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs kept on nailing the big shots consistently.
Heinrich Klassen, coming at number five, showed his extreme power, especially against the spinners. The point arrived when they needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand. It was a matter of only a few balls to end the game there.
‘Yes, I was completely blank.’ India captain Rohit Sharma while speaking at an event in Dallas, recalled the period of the game.
He felt that despite being under pressure in the last five overs, as a team, they stuck to their basics, rather than doing something extra-ordinary.
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‘I don’t look too far ahead. It’s very important for me to stay in the moment and focus on the job at hand. It was very important for all of us to stay calm and try to execute our plans.’ Rohit Sharma expressed. ‘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.’
India managed to dismiss Klassen, while the brilliant catch by Suryakumar to dismiss David Miller in the last over sealed the game for them, as they ended their drought of winning an ICC trophy after 11 years.
The Indian captain is on a break currently and could miss the upcoming Sri Lanka trip for the ODI series. Rohit Sharma is expected to be in action again during the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh.