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India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma admitted that he was panicking in the dressing room during the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa. In this memorable encounter, the Men in Blue triumphed over South Africa by seven runs to pocket their second T20 World Cup title.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit specifically talked about the significance of Virat Kohli's knock, which provided stability to the side after an initial shaky start. India, having chosen to bat first, faced early setbacks with the quick dismissals of Rohit himself, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav. The captain admitted that there was palpable tension within the dressing room during this period.
India's decision to bat first after winning the toss didn't initially pan out as planned, with captain Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav falling cheaply, leaving the team struggling at 34 for 3 during the powerplay overs. However, Virat Kohli, who had experienced a relatively quiet tournament in the USA and the West Indies, rose to the occasion in the final. He played a composed innings, scoring 76 runs off 59 deliveries, effectively anchoring the innings. Kohli was also instrumental in a crucial 72-run partnership with Axar Patel, who contributed a fluent 47 off 31 balls, taking on the aggressor role. Following Axar’s dismissal in the 14th over, Kohli and Shivam Dube forged a valuable 47-run stand for the fifth wicket. Dube added a quick 27 from 16 balls, while Kohli provided the much-needed acceleration in the final overs, helping India reach a competitive total of 176 for 7 on a good batting surface in Bridgetown.
Rohit said after the dismissals of top three batters he was left panicking in the dressing room. But the Kohli's sensible knock calmed his nerves.
“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. 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. After losing those three wickets up front, there were obviously a lot of nerves in the dressing room. 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 told JioCinema.
Rohit Sharma also gave high praise to Axar Patel's contribution with the bat, describing his innings as underrated but ultimately vital to India's victory in the T20 World Cup final.
“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. Then we had Shivam, Axar, and Hardik, who came in and played their parts. I thought it was a very good total,” Rohit added.
Rohit concluded his T20I career as India's leading run-scorer in the format, amassing 4,231 runs in 159 matches, which included five centuries. Kohli finished closely behind with 4,188 runs in 125 games. Their retirement from T20Is was followed by their decision to also step down from Test cricket in May 2025, within days of each other. These two modern-day legends will now focus solely on the 50-over format.
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