New Delhi: It’s been over two weeks since India’s T20 World Cup triumph, but the memories of the historic win are still fresh in the minds of Indian fans. The eternal wait for the World Cup trophy finally ended with Team India’s thrilling win over South Africa in the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados. The monumental victory ended India’s 13-year wait for the World Cup trophy and ended a decade-long jinx for the ICC title.
But the win was not straightforward. In fact, at one stage, India looked doomed for another heartbreak in an ICC event. The match, which was full of ebbs and flows, was in balance till the 14th over but Heinrich Klaasen had other ideas. The South African power-hitter titled the match in Proteas’ favour by smashing 24 runs in the 15th over bowled by Axar Patel. The equation changed completely and with 30 runs needed off 30 balls, South Africa became favourites to win the title.
Indian skipper Rohit recalled the moment when everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for India.
“Yes, I was completely blank,” Rohit said at an event in Dallas, Texas.
How India staged a remarkable comeback?
With Klassen in a rampant mood, it was South Africa’s game to lose. But Indian pacers held their nerve and produced a remarkable display to restrict the African nation to 169/8, seven runs shy of India’s total of 176/7. The trio of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh picked up crucial wickets and applied the brakes on the scoring rate to choke the South African batting order and staged a remarkable turnaround.
Rohit said that the team stuck to their tasks and remained calm under immense pressure to get out of a precarious situation.
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. 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.
Following the landmark victory, Rohit along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is. Though all three players will continue to represent India in ODIs and Tests.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma recalled the moment when everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for India. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
