Rohit Sharma named India's game-changer in the 2024 T20 WC |courtesy - Instagram/BCCI/AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Rohit Sharma reflected on India's T20 World Cup win
- 29th June will mark the first anniversary of the iconic victory
- India beat South Africa in the final
With the 1st anniversary of India's 2024 T20 World Cup victory looking, Rohit Sharma, who was the captain of the team, looked back on the historic triumph, which ended India's 11-year wait for an ICC trophy after beating South Africa in the summit clash in a nail-biting clash by five runs.
The summit clash was a roller coaster as India found themselves in early trouble as they lost three wickets in the powerplay before Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a knock of 76 in 59, which also won him the Man of the Match (MOTM) award.
Later, it looked like the Proteas were cruising to the target with just 30 runs needed in the last five overs with six wickets in hand. However, Jasprit Bumrah's stunning spell (2-18 in four overs). He got solid support from Arshdeep Singh (2-20 in four overs) while Hardik Pandya emerged the hero as he held his nerves to bowl an inch-perfect final over and finished with figures of 3-20 in four overs.
Rohit Sharma Names India's Game-Changer In T20 WC Final
Rohit credited Axar Patel as the game-changer for India in the summit clash. The 31-year-old was promoted to number five and justified the decision with a crucial knock of 47 in 31 balls. The star all-rounder put up a vital fourth-wicket partnership of 72 runs to set the stage for India to get a respectable score on the board. Rohit admitted he was panicking after the collapse.
“I was panicking. I wasn’t comfortable. I thought we’d let them into the game. Of course, in the back of my mind, I always believed our lower middle order, although it hadn’t batted much during the tournament, had made an impact whenever given the opportunity.
“Not many people are talking about Axar’s knock, but it was the game-changer. Scoring 47 off 31 at that stage was vital. And we needed one player to bat through the innings, Virat did that brilliantly,” said Rohit in an interaction with Jiostar.
Axar later also got the crucial wicket of Tristan Stubbs but proved expensive as he conceded 49 runs in four overs.
Through the course of the tournament, Axar was one of India's most consistent players with bat and ball. He made 92 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 139.39 while also taking nine wickets at an economy of 7.86.
Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Tournament (POTM) with an incredible tally of 15 wickets in eight games at an economy of 4.17.
