"I was panicking, Virat Kohli calmed down everyone in the dressing room"- Rohit Sharma's unfiltered chat on ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final

Rohit Sharma was the highest run-getter for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, while Virat Kohli top-scored in the final.

India ODI captain Rohit Sharma has heaped rich praise on Virat Kohli for his match-winning knock in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. India, led by Sharma, crushed South Africa in the final by seven runs in a thrilling clash to win the trophy.

Virat Kohli played a crucial role with the bat in the encounter, scoring 76 runs off 59 deliveries. He also won the Player of the Match award for his fantastic innings. Notably, India lost three quick wickets at the start and were reeling at 34/3 at one stage.

However, a 47-run knock by Axar Patel and a 72-run stand between Kohli and Patel for the fourth wicket helped India to overcome the early batting collapse. Thanks to their efforts, along with a crucial 27-run knock by Shivman Dube, India reached a powerful total of 176/7 in the end.

He played a brilliant innings – Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s knock in ICC T20 WC 2024 final

While speaking to Jio Cinema, Sharma lauded Kohli for his crucial knock in the encounter. Notably, Kohli had struggled to perform in the previous games of the tournament; however, he played an anchor role in the final.

“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,” Sharma said.

“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”, he further added.

Sharma also revealed he panicked after India lost three quick wickets at the start; however, Kohli calmed everyone down 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,” he added.

In the nail-biting clash, South Africa piled up 169/8 in the second innings, losing the clash by just seven runs. Hardik Pandya defended 16 runs off the final over to help India lift the title. After the victory, India ended their 11-year-long wait for an ICC title. Sharma and Kohli also announced their retirement from the T20I format following the win.

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