 "We wanted this really bad, says emotional Rohit Sharma after helping India end ICC tournament jinx")
India pulled off a comeback for the ages from a tough position to defeat South Africa by 7 runs in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday and end their decade-long drought for an ICC trophy.
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Rohit Sharma thus became only the third Indian captain to lead the nation to World Cup triumph — in ODIs or in T20Is — as the Men in Blue breezed through the tournament unbeaten to win their second T20 world title.
After masterminding his team’s thrilling victory over the Proteas, the ‘Hitman’ stated that the victory was not only the result of their brilliant performances throughout the month of June as well as in the final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, but also the result of three to four years of extensive planning.
“Very hard to sum up what we’ve been through for the last three-four years. We’ve worked very hard as individuals and as a team. It’s what we’ve been doing for the last three-four years. That’s the result that is before us today. Guys do understand when the pressure is on, what needs to be done. And today was the perfect example, when our backs are against the wall, what needs to be done. We wanted this really bad, we wanted to win this,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
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Rohit also heaped praise on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who were adjudged the Player of the Final and the Player of the Tournament respectively. Kohli, who announced his retirement from T20Is at the time of accepting the award, finally roared back to form in the title clash with a knock of 76 off 59 balls while Bumrah finished the tournament with 15 wickets at a superb average of 8.26.
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More Shorts“Nobody was in doubt about the form of Virat. We know his quality. He’s been on top of his game for the last three-four years. Virat was holding that one end, and the others played around him. It was a team effort as well. These are not the wicket where you can bat freely. We needed someone to bat as long as possible and Virat did that perfectly,” said Rohit, describing the contribution of his opening partner, while also making mention of Axar Patel’s crucial 47 off 31 balls.
“I’ve seen this guy (Bumrah) for so long. Even I don’t know how he does what he does. He backs his skills, which is more than enough. Whatever he wants to do he executes to perfection. He’s a class act! Hardik was brilliant as well. To bowl the last over, I’m very proud of the boys. Absolutely fantastic,” Rohit added, heaping praise on Bumrah while making special mention of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who had bowled a superb final over to clinch India’s victory.
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South Africa captain Aiden Markram, meanwhile, was gutted after the Proteas fell narrowly short of what would have been their first world title at the senior level. After conquering the World Cup semi-final barrier for the first time since their readmission into the sport in 1991, South Africa were in pole position to chase the target of 177 down in a canter, reaching 151/4 at the end of the 16th over.
India, however, held their nerve in the death overs to turn things around in dramatic fashion, conceding just 10 runs in the next three overs for the loss of two wickets with Heinrich Klaasen getting caught-behind off Pandya’s bowling right after blazing his way to a 23-ball half-century.
Bumrah would castle Marco Jansen in his final over and Arshdeep would sign off on a tidy note by conceding just four runs in the penultimate over. Pandya then finished off in style, getting rid of David Miller in the first delivery thanks to a screamer of a catch by Suryakumar Yadav at the edge of the boundary, and later getting rid of Kagiso Rabada and sealing an emotional second title for the Men in Blue.
“Gutted for the time being. It’ll take some time for us to have a really good reflection on a really good campaign the group had. Obviously for the time being, like I mentioned, it hurts quite a bit. Having said that, I’m incredibly proud of this group of players and everyone involved with the team,” Markram, the first South African captain to win a World Cup semi-final, said after the game.
“We’ve seen with a lot of our games in this campaign - it’s never over till the last ball is bowled. We never got comfortable, there’s always an element of scoreboard pressure. And especially at the back end, things happen quite quickly and can turn quite quickly as well. Having said that, we got into a great position which proves we’re worthy finalists. Could’ve won the game today. Unfortunately we didn’t. Still, like I mentioned, incredibly proud of the group.
“One thing guaranteed about a South African wherever they are in the world is they’re a really competitive person, really respectful person and a person that’ll go down with a fight. Hopefully looking forward we can draw a lot from those few things and keep putting the skill side of the sport to good use. It’s still a proud moment for us,” Markram signed off.
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