Team India ODI captain Rohit Sharma revealed panicking during the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa. India won the toss and batted first in front of a packed house at Barbados. However, after racing to 23/0 in 1.3 overs, India lost three quick wickets to be struggling at 34/3 in the fifth over. Rohit was the first one dismissed for nine
off five deliveries, followed by Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav as well.

Recalling his mindset at that moment in an interview with JioHotstar, Rohit Sharma said (via News18): “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.”

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“Not many people are talking about Axar’s knock, but it was the game-changer. Scoring 47 off 31 at that stage was vital. And we needed one player to bat through the innings, Virat did that brilliantly,” further added Rohit.

However, Rohit Sharma believed Virat Kohli’s three boundaries in the first over of the 2024 T20 World Cup final helped him produce his match-winning knock as well. Kohli had scored only 75 runs in seven innings. However, he finished with 76 off 59 balls in the final, earning him the Player of the Match award as well.

“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. 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,” concluded Rohit Sharma.