'I Wasn't Comfortable...': Rohit Sharma Narrates Unnerving Moments Of T20 WC Final

News18

4 days ago

Last Updated:
India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma admitted panicking during the T20 World Cup final, but praised Virat Kohli and Axar Patel's crucial partnership.
India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma has admitted that he was panicking and was not feeling comfortable during the T20 World Cup final against South Africa last year, as he thought that three quick wickets meant that they had handed the game over to the Proteas, before ace batter Virat Kohli and Axar Patel built a partnership.
India had won the toss and opted to bat, but Rohit, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav fell, leaving the team at 34/3 in the powerplay.
But Kohli, who had struggled throughout the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Windies, rose to the occasion in the final, scoring a patient 76 off 59 balls.
After Axar's dismissal in the 14th over, Kohli and Shivam Dube stitched together 47 runs for the fifth wicket.
'If you hit three boundaries in the first over, then you've started well. That's what every cricketer wants. The experience of playing for India for so many years helps. You can control your emotions, control your thoughts and stay in the moment," Rohit said while speaking to JioHotstar, on Kohli's knock.
'I'm sure he was thinking the same: 'Today is the day I need to be focused.' Not worrying about what happened before. And he played a brilliant innings, a fantastic partnership with Axar," Rohit added.
'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," Rohit said.
The former T20I captain praised Axar's knock, calling it underrated but important to India's victory over South Africa.
'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," Rohit said.
Chasing 177 to win, South Africa found themselves at 12/2 in the third over before wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs built a 58-run partnership for the third wicket.
After Stubbs was dismissed by Axar in the ninth over, de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen added 36 runs for the fourth wicket, to take South Africa closer to the target.
After de Kock was dismissed by Arshdeep Singh in the 13th over, Klaasen and David Miller added 45 runs for the fifth wicket.
Once Hardik Pandya dismissed Klaasen, South Africa couldn't make a comeback and India won the game by just seven runs.