Indian captain Rohit Sharma spoke about the Men in Blue’s second ICC T20 World Cup title, saying the feeling has not sunk in completely and he wants to live every moment to the fullest. A fine display of death bowling from trio Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya and stupendous knocks from Virat Kohli and Axar Patel helped India end their ICC trophy drought, securing their second ICC T20 World Cup title by defeating the finalists South Africa’s debutants by seven runs in a thrilling final in Barbados on Saturday.
In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rohit said the feeling of winning the tournament is surreal and still feels like a dream as the team has been working towards it for a long time.
“Yes, the feeling is really surreal. I would still say it hasn’t fully sunk in. It was a big moment. From the end of the game until now, it feels like a dream. We still feel like it didn’t happen. Even though it happened, it feels like it didn’t happen.” That’s the emotion, that’s the feeling that you’ve had for such a long period of time and to see it now with us is quite, you know, relieved too, because when you work hard for something and you eventually achieve it in the end, it feels good. . Last night, I mean, we were having a good time,” Rohit said.
The celebrations, the winning gesture and what it all means
Captain Rohit Sharma takes us through the surreal emotions afterwards #TeamIndiaT20 World Cup Triumph – By @Moulinparikh @ImRo45 | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/oQbyD8rvij
-BCCI (@BCCI) July 2, 2024
The captain said the team celebrated the victory until the next morning, which made him lose sleep, but it was worth it.
“We had a lot of fun with teammates until early in the morning. Then again, I would say I didn’t sleep well. I have plenty of time to go home and sleep, so I’ll catch up on that, but like I said, this moment was really, really special for all of us. I want to live every moment, every second, every minute that is passing by. I want to make the most of it, these things aren’t actually… I guess I can’t describe it because nothing was planned. . It was… It was all… You know, whatever was coming instinctively,” he said.
Tasting the soil of the Barbados pitch, Rohit said that the pitch helped them achieve their moment and that he wanted to have a piece of it with him. He also said he would forever remember Kensington Oval in Barbados.
“You know… I was feeling the moment when I stepped onto the field because that field gave us that. We played on that specific field and won the game, on that specific field too. life and that field too. So I wanted to have a piece of that with me. So yes, these moments are very, very special. And the place where all our dreams came true, I wanted some of that. behind it”, he concluded.
In the final match of the tournament, India won the toss and elected to bat first. After being reduced to 34/3, a counter-attacking partnership between Virat Kohli (76) and Axar Patel (47 off 31 balls, with one four and four sixes) of 72 runs restored India’s position in the game. A 57-run stand between Virat and Shivam Dube (27 off 16 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to 176/7 in their 20 overs.
Keshav Maharaj (2/23) and Anrich Nortje (2/26) were SA’s best bowlers. Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram took one wicket each.
In the 177-run chase, Proteas were reduced to 12/2 and then a 58-run partnership between Quinton de Kock (39 off 31 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Tristan Stubbs (31 off 21 balls, with three fours and a six) brought SA back into the game. Heinrich Klaasen’s half-century (52 off 27 balls, with two fours and five sixes) threatened to take the game away from India. However, Arshdeep Singh (18/02), Jasprit Bumrah (20/02) and Hardik Pandya (20/03) made a great return in death overs, keeping SA at 169/8 in their 20 overs.
Virat secured ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance. Now, by securing their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2013, India have ended their ICC trophy drought.
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