India won their second T20 World Cup on June 29, 2024.
It’s been a year, but the iconic dialogues “I only believe in Jassi bhai, because he is a gamechanger” and “Long off, Long off, LONG OFF” still reverberate in the minds of every Indian cricket team fan. The nation has completed one year around the sun with another ICC trophy. The T20 World Cup 2024 Final against South Africa in Bridgetown was the highlight of last year, as it healed some wounds from the ODI World Cup loss in 2023. It also marked 20-over retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While the Final carries many joyous and remarkable moments, the former T20I skipper reckons a move by Rishabh Pant that turned the tide for India.
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Recalling the game centre, India chose to bat first after winning the toss. Rohit was the first man down after making just nine runs. Pant departed for a duck while Suryakumar Yadav could add only three runs. Opener Kohli and No.5 batter Axar Patel steadied the ship for India. The Delhi batter was careful and smart in his approach during the 76 off 59 knock. He struck six fours and two sixes while collecting most of his runs in singles and doubles. Axar, on the other hand, was gutsy with a 31-ball 47. He slammed four sixes and scored a boundary. Shivam Dube added a quickfire 27 off 16 before allrounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with five and two runs respectively.
Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje picked up two wickets each, while Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada took one wicket each. The scoreboard with 176/7 looked daunting for Indian fans.
The second innings was nothing short of drama. Jasprit Bumrah took out Reeza Hendricks for just four runs. Aiden Markram had a similar fate off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling. Quinton de Kock (39 off 31) and Tristan Stubbs (31 off 21) set the stage for another heartbreak for the India fans. But it was Heinrich Klaasen, smashing five sixes and two boundaries, who swayed the game away.
However, this is where Rishabh Pant’s masterstroke worked.
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The wicketkeeper faked a strain to stop the flow of runs.
“The physiotherapist had arrived and was taping his knee. Klassen was waiting for the match to start again. I am not saying it’s the only reason, but it could be one of them – Pant Sahab used his smarts and things worked out in our favour,” Rohit had said to Star Sports.
That T20I line-up didn’t include KL Rahul or Sanju Samson, which made Pant’s potential injury all the more alarming for the Indian camp. With four overs remaining and the match slipping away, his presence on the field was crucial. Adding to the concern, the team was already anxious, given Pant had only recently returned from a serious road accident.
“The accident he had, I thought he was just trying to. But actually, it was just to stop the game a little bit. The momentum was with them. So, it was very important to break that,” he added.
Eventually, the break helped. On the first ball of the 17th over, the dangerman Klaasen was caught behind due to a lack of footwork off Hardik Pandya’s bowling. The target of 30 out of 30 had turned to 16 off the last six balls. The last over was also handed to Pandya. On the first ball, Suryakumar’s long off heroics dismissed David Miller, who was starting to slip the trophy out of India’s hands. Then Rabada swung his bat for a boundary, but he was eventually out on the penultimate delivery. They needed nine out of the last ball, but Nortje settled with a single. What followed was India’s end to an 11-year ICC trophy drought as they raised the goldenware in the air.
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