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'I was completely...': Rohit Sharma recalls last overs' drama during India's T20 WC final win vs South Africa

'I was completely...': Rohit Sharma recalls last overs' drama during India's T20 WC final win vs South Africa

Rohit Sharma recalls last overs' drama during India's T20 World Cup final win vs South Africa

Rohit Sharma-led India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, beating South Africa by 7 runs in an epic final at the Kensington Oval, Barbados on June 29. Opting to bat first, India rode on Virat Kohli's 76, Axar Patel's 47 and Shivam Dube's 27to post 176/7 but Heinrich Klaasen's blazing knock (52) made it a one-sided battle with the Proteas needing just 30 off the last five overs, which was down to 27 off 28 balls. However, India's death-bowling heroics (led by Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh) took them to a famous win, restricting Aiden Markam & Coto 169/8,as they ended their 11-year-long ICC title drought and won their second T20 WC title.

Recently, Indian captain Rohit -- who announced his T20I retirement post the T20 WC triumph -- revealed his thought process during the last overs' drama in Barbados. At an event in Dallas, Hitman admitted being 'blank''.

He said, "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."

He added, "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."

With the ball, Bumrah (2 for 18), Arshdeep (2 for 20) and Hardik (3 for 19) turned thingsas they choked the Proteas batters in the end overs. Suryakumar Yadav's stunning catch, near the boundary ropes, also played a crucial part in the Men in Blue's remarkable win.

Talking about Rohit, he ended the T20 WC with 257 runs, second-most overall. After the historic win, the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is.