India's star pacer Arshdeep Singh, who played an instrumental role in India's T20 World Cup 2024 title triumph, has finally revealed the turning point of the high-stakes match. Arshdeep, who finished as the joint leading wicket taker of T20 World Cup alongside Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi with 17 wickets, talked at length about India's historic title win in T20 World Cup final against South Africa, which ended their 11-year-long drought of ICC trophy. Speaking at the 'Champions' session of Agenda AajTak Arshdeep credited India's star wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's clever strategy which not only disrupted South Africa's momentum but also swung the match in India's favour.
Arshdeep Singh on how Rishabh Pant's clever tactics helped India break South Africa's momentum in T20 World Cup final
"First of all, I want to thank everyone so much for all the love and support you've shown. At that moment, when we needed 30 runs off the last three balls, there was a small break when Rishabh bhai was receiving treatment from the physio. At that point, I felt like it could be a game-changing moment, maybe even a tactical move," Arshdeep Singh said.
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Virat Kohli anchored India's innings with a calculated half-century and spurred them to a total of 176/7, rallying India from a precarious position. In reply, South Africa got off to a promising start, despite losing early wickets, as Heinrich Klaasen led their assault. With 16 overs gone, South Africa were well-placed at 151/4, needing just 26 runs from 24 balls to secure a win and the title, which almost looked certain.
However, the match took a dramatic turn in the 17th over. Rishabh Pant played a masterstroke and was suddenly lied down on the ground hinting at his knee injury which saw physio storming into the ground. This brief episode with Pant disrupted the rhythm of the in-form Heinrich Klaasen. When play resumed, Hardik Pandya struck immediately, dismissing Klaasen with the first ball of the over. Klassen's wicket triggered South Africa's batting collapse as they crumbled under the pressure exerted by Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in the final overs.
South Africa ended up falling short by seven runs, handing India their long-awaited ICC World Cup title. Pant's strategic pause at the crucial juncture of the match was nothing short of a masterstroke which helped India seal their second T20 World Cup title after 15 years.
"We didn't know then whether he genuinely needed the treatment or not. But after that, when Hardik bhai took the wicket and Jassi bhai created immense pressure, that's when the team started believing we could win the match from there. We just stuck to the plan, executed it well, and got the result we wanted," Arshdeep concluded.
