Ganesh Kendale
India’s T20 World Cup triumph looked improbable when South Africa needed a run a ball in the final at Barbados earlier this year in June. But the turnaround happened, thanks to Surykumar Yadav’s brilliant catch and Hardik Pandya’s heroic spell, and India won the match by seven runs in the end to clinch the trophy.
However, one story from that match, which nobody knew, was shared by Rohit Sharma on an episode of the comedy series ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’.
A clever ploy by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant to break the momentum of the South African batsmen was one of the factors that contributed to the game turning on its head, said the India captain, who retired from the T20Is after the victory.
“They had a lot of wickets left. We were feeling the tension, but a captain needs to have a strong face at that moment,” Rohit revealed on the show. “No one knows this, there was a small break (when SA needed 26 off 24 balls). Rishabh Pant ne apna dimag lagaya aur game to rok diya (used his brain and delayed proceedings), saying he has a niggle in his knee and started getting it taped by the physio.”
Rohit believes it worked in India’s favour as the SA big-hitter Heinrich Klaasen was made to wait while he was blazing away.
“At that moment, the batter wants the ball to be bowled quickly because he is in flow. We needed to break the rhythm. I was setting the field, talking to the bowler and then I saw Pant on the ground, the physio was there and Klaasen was waiting for resumption,” Rohit added.
“I’m not saying that was the reason for the win, but it could be. Pant used his brain.”
Appearing on the show with Rohit were Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.
India had posted 176 for 7 on the board, thanks to Virat Kohli’s half-century.
Chasing a challenging total in the pressure match, Klaasen smashed 52 from just 27 balls to put South Africa on the brink of victory.
But when play resumed after Pant had his knee taped, Pandya got rid of Klaasen next ball to bring India back in the match. David Miller fell soon after, which took India closer before they eventually won in the final over.
