MUMBAI: Throughout the T20 World Cup campaign, captain Rohit Sharma was a picture of focus and composure. From New York to Barbados, he didn’t let his guard down and channelled his team’s focus on the task on hand. But after the last ball was bowled in the final at the hallowed turf of Kensington Oval, Barbados on Saturday, the dam of emotions broke.
The India captain slumped to the ground in joy, repeatedly thumping the turf in elation. The 37-year-old has been a champion player in all formats but the stakes were never as high for him.
His T20 career seemed to have ended after the 2022 World Cup. However, a dream run at the 2023 ODI World Cup convinced BCCI’s decision makers to give Rohit one last chance. The world’s richest cricket board brought him back as T20 team captain mainly for this assignment — help India win the ICC trophy.
On Saturday, he finally accomplished the task, ending a 13-year wait for a World Cup. India became the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup without losing a game.
“Oh yeah, it was very emotional. I wanted this badly. So, it’s very hard to put it in words because that moment (when he slumped to his knees), I don’t want to say what was going in my mind, but it was a very emotional moment personally for me.
“I wish I could capture that moment myself but not really, you can’t do that but I will always remember that,” Rohit said addressing the press conference after lifting the World Cup trophy.
“Yeah, those are the moments you wait for, you don’t plan these things, it just happens because you’re so desperate for certain things in life and I was very desperate for this in my life.
“So happy that we eventually crossed the line this time.”
India had a dominant run to the final, but South Africa stretched them fully in the title clash. While India appeared to be ahead during large parts of South Africa’s chase, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen plundered 38 runs off the 14th and 15th overs, from Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, to turn the game on its head. At the end of the 16th over, they had one hand on the trophy. With 30 needed off 30 balls, India looked down and out.
These are the big moments in finals that India had fluffed since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy – that was the last ICC trophy before Saturday — most recently in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in November. This was exactly the phase of the game where his leadership was needed, when the game was on the line in a big final and the opposition was on top, for which he had attained fame with Mumbai Indians in IPL. Rohit has finally delivered with India.
With the game on the line, his spin attack hammered into submission, Rohit turned to Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, who combined to heap pressure back on South Africa. It was Rohit, the captain, showing how the job is completed when things are not going your way. The three pacers pulled it back after that to secure a seven-run victory.
So, how did he do it?
“The message was loud and clear to everyone that until the last ball of the game is bowled, the game is not over. Because that’s what happens in cricket, and you’ve got to believe that. And my job as a captain is to make everyone believe that,” Rohit said.
“Every time we had the ball in hand, whether we got wickets or we didn’t, we wanted to keep fighting. Keep fighting whether we are ahead in the game or behind in the game, we wanted to keep fighting because moments like this will never come again. This is the final. So, you have to give everything that you have inside your body, mind.
“Even though we were behind in the game after 15 overs, the belief was still there. We wanted to fight, and then eventually we managed to cross the line.”
There were many heroes in the game but at that crucial juncture when the game looked lost, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav produced moments of individual brilliance. Rohit singled out their game-changing efforts.
“In a game like this, there are a lot of turnarounds. I cannot single out one or two aspects of the game, but looking at where the game was when four or five overs were left, obviously that wicket of Klassen, when Hardik took that, that was actually very crucial from our point of view. And then again, Miller’s wicket in the last over, that catch of Surya off Hardik’s bowling was again superb.”
In the first ball of the final over, Suryakumar pulled off a catch that will be talked about like Kapil Dev’s from the 1983 World Cup final to dismiss Viv Richards.
With 16 needed to win, David Miller’s hit off a full toss was sailing over the long-off fence for six. But Suryakumar sprinted, balanced himself brilliantly on the rope and showed the presence of mind to throw the ball in the air as he stepped outside the rope before jumping back to complete the catch.
“I was standing at long off so I could clearly see Surya. He is very calm under pressure. He has got brilliant hands. The moment he took that catch; I knew that he’s inside. I was celebrating already,” said Rohit.
Tribute to Dravid
Rohit paid rich tributes to coach Rahul Dravid. Like him, Dravid’s reputation too was on the line. The two had been tasked by BCCI to break the ICC trophy drought and it was Dravid’s final game in charge.
Rohit said the cricket legend deserved the World Cup trophy even more than the players for his contribution to the game.
“More than any one of us, I think he deserved that trophy. What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20-25 years, I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. I am very happy on behalf of the entire team that we could actually do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was. Really grateful for this to happen as well,” the captain said.
His mission accomplished, Rohit has joined Virat Kohli in retiring from T20 internationals. “This was my last (T20I) game as well. No better time to say goodbye to this format. I’ve loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the Cup,” said Rohit, who leaves the T20I format as its highest scorer (4231 runs in 159 matches).
