Follow UsVirat Kohli had an ordinary T20 World Cup 2024 right up to the final, during which he had managed just 75 runs. However, in in he final against Sooth Africa on June 29 (Saturday), with wickets falling around him, Kohli scored 76 off 59 deliveries to take India to 176/7. Axar Patel (47) and Shivam Dube (27) too played their parts after Rohit Sharma (9). Rishabh Pant (0) and Suryakumar Yadav (3).
Going into the final, skipper Rohit was not too concerned about Kohli's form, but after his knock in the final, he says that the veteran batter performed when the team needed it the most, as India lifted their second T20 World Cup title.
"He's been a champion player without a doubt. And we all know what he has done for us. At some point everyone has to say goodbye to the game and Virat was very clear that this is what he wanted to do and he was very clear before the start of the tournament as well," Rohit said at the post-match press conference.
"I am very happy for him that he batted like he did in the finals. I know the quality that he has, the big games and all of that. He is going to come good. When we wanted him the most, he came out and performed the way he did. So very happy looking at his career. Obviously, he's been a champion player. We know, we can see the stats and everything there. But, yeah, a nice way to sign off from this format."
Head coach Rahul Dravid was overcome with emotions when he was handed the trophy. This was Dravid's first-ever trophy at the senior level - be it as a coach or as a player. India got so close in Ahmedabad last year, but have erased those memories with a win in Barbados.
Rohit says he and the team were happy that they could give him a fitting farewell.
"He more than any one of us, I think he deserved that trophy. What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20-25 years, I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. I am very happy with all of us, on behalf of the entire team, that we could actually do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was. Really grateful to the occasion for this to happen as well," Rohit, who, like Kohli, announced his T20 Internationals (T20I) retirement, said.
Rohit has led India to three ICC finals in the last year, and had already lost to of them. As a result, Rohit said he was desperate to win this trophy and calls it one of the greatest moment of his career.
"This has to be the greatest time I can say that. It's only because how desperately I wanted to win this. So, all the runs, all the runs that I've scored in all these years, I think it does matter, but I'm not big on stats and all of that," Rohit said.
"I think winning games for India, winning trophies for India, that is what I look forward to all the time. And having this now right beside me probably has to be, I don't know, honestly, I don't know if it's the greatest or what but it is definitely one of the greatest, I can say that - and when I have to look back at certain moments in the game as well, they were really playing well."
Emotions ran high for Rohit as he was on his knees as soon as India won the final, bringing an end to years and years of agony where India failed to win a trophy. "I wanted this badly," Rohit said.
"So, it’s very hard to put it in words because that moment, I don't want to say what I was thinking and what was going in my mind, but it was a very emotional moment personally for me. And I'm going to, I wish I could capture that moment myself but not really, you can't do that but I will always remember that.
"Yeah, those are the moments you wait for and then you don't plan these things, it just happens because you're so desperate for certain things in life and I was very desperate for this in my life so happy that we eventually crossed the line this time."
Coming to the match, India looked down and out at one stage when South Africa needed 30 off the last five overs. Heinrich Klaasen (52) had already scored a 23-ball fifty and he had the ever-dependable David Miller (21) at the other end. Things looked ominous for India. That's when Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh took it upon themselves to put in a sublime performance. That, coupled with a brilliant catch by Suryakumar Yadav at the boundary in the final over, was good enough to take India home.
"Halfway through, we were very much in the game. And then the next five overs didn't go our way. Klaassen and Miller actually took it on. De Kock played his part as well. But we know what they are capable of with the bat. The message was very loud and clear to everyone that until the last ball of the game is bowled, the game is not over. Because that's what happens in cricket and you've got to believe that. And my job as a captain is to make everyone believe that," Rohit said, recalling the last 10 overs of the match.
"Every time we had the ball in hand, whether we got wickets or we didn't get wickets, we wanted to keep fighting. Keep fighting whether we are ahead in the game or behind in the game, we wanted to keep fighting because moments like these will never come again. This is the final. So, you have to give everything that you have inside your body, mind, and everything.
"That is what the message was to everyone let everything out, put whatever you have in your body, mind, put it in front of us and let's see then what happens. And I thought the belief that everyone had till the last ball was bowled was to keep fighting. Even though we were behind in the game after 15 overs when they required just 30-odd runs in five or four overs, the belief was still there. We wanted to fight, we wanted to fight and then eventually we managed to cross the line."
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