"Was completely blank.." Rohit Sharma reveals most nervy moment during ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final

Rohit Sharma announced his T20I retirement after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma opened up on his thought process during the crucial stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 grand finale against South Africa on June 29 in Barbados.

After India won the toss and opted to bat first, Virat Kohli (76) hammered the highest score by any Men in Blue batter in a T20 World Cup final. Kohli’s knock helped India post a competitive total of 176/7 in 20 overs.

While defending 177, the India pace trio of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh restricted Proteas to 169/8 to win the game by seven runs.

I was completely blank: Rohit reveals crucial last five overs against South Africa

At one point, the game had slipped from India’s hands when South African batter Heinrich Klaasen was smacking Indian spinners to all corners of the ground. India were in a spot of trouble when the Proteas required 30 runs off 30 balls.

However, Hardik removed Klaasen in the 17th over, whereas Bumrah took the wicket of Marco Jansen in the 18th over of the chase, which brought the Men in Blue back into the game.

In the 19th over, Arshdeep just conceded four runs, which left the Proteas to score 16 runs in the final over of the match. India skipper Rohit handed the ball to Hardik and he defended 16 runs in the final over, including taking wicket of dangerous David Miller.

Recalling the moment, Rohit said that he was completely blank in the last five overs of South Africa’s innings. The veteran player added that it was important for him to stay calm in order to execute the right plans.

“Yes, I was completely blank. I don’t look too far ahead. It’s very important for me to stay in the moment and focus on the job at hand. It was very important for all of us to stay calm and try to execute our plans,” Rohit said at an event in Dallas.

“When we were under immense pressure when South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls, the five overs that we bowled showed how calm we were. We just focussed on our job, not thinking much about anything else. We didn’t panic that was very good from our side,” he added.

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