Rohit Sharma Reveals How India Remained Calm to Pull Off Victory From Jaws of Defeat in T20 World Cup Final

Add as a preferred source on Google

T20 World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma has revealed how Team India pulled off an impossible win in last month's final against South Africa, saying remaining calm and doing the job at hand was very important.

Defending 30 off 30 balls, the T20 World Cup seemed to be heading South Africa's way with the dangerous duo of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller at the crease. But Rohit and Co pulled off victory from jaws of defeat at the Kensington Oval to end a long wait for an ICC trophy.

Klaasen had just slammed a half-century off just 23 balls and was well on course to help South Africa win their first-ever World Cup, but after the expensive 15th over the match turned on it's head when Rohit brough back the trump card Jasprit Bumrah into the attack.

Although he made the right call at the crucial juncture, the Indian skipper revealed that he was at one time "completely blank" but knew he didn't have to look too far ahead and needed to remain calm as a unit, which paid off in the end.

"Yes, I was completely blank. 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 said at an event in Dallas.

After Klaasen and Miller had taken the attack to spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel to take South Africa closer to the target of 177, the pace bowling trio avoided an eventual early finish and even changed the result in their team's favour.

Rohit further added that the five final overs of the game showed how calm they were as a unit and their focus on the job without any panic, led to a positive result of India winning their second T20 World Cup, the first since 2007.

"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," Rohit added.

In a spot of bother, defending only a run a ball, Rohit brought on India's most threatenting weapon Bumrah, who delivered the game changing overs, in which he conceded just four runs. However, Klaasen and Miller still remained at the crease.

But Hardik Pandya delivered a crucial blow, ending Klaasen's stay in the very first ball of the 17th over to allow India a real chance back in the match. He finished his over, conceding just 4 singles. And then Bumrah again returned to completely tilt the match in India's favour.

The Indian pace spearhead castled Marco Jansen with a spectacular delivery and finished his final over, conceding just 2 runs, leaving South Africa needing 20 off 12 balls to win.

Arshdeep Singh then stepped up and bowled another tight over, conceding just 4 runs before Hardik bowled another fantastic over, starting with the dismissal of Miller after an assist from Suryakumar Yadav in the field and gave away just 8 runs, defending 16 in the final over.

With this India ended a 11-year wait for an ICC trophy and a 13-year wait for a World Cup. The Men in Blue also put behind the disappointment from losing the ODI World Cup in 2023 with this result.