Rohit Sharma reflects on India’s T20 World Cup triumph

The T20 World Cup success was on the back of years of planning and delivered a trio of India greats their most defining moment of their glorious career.

For Rohit and fellow Indian legend Virat Kohli it marked their final T20I match prior to retirement, while for outgoing coach Rahul Dravid it was also his final game in charge.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐞 – WATCH NOW on #JioHotstar! Or on Star Sports Network from 26th-29th JUNE, 10 AM IST

Uncharted territory in New York

India's first tough test came against arch-rival Pakistan in New York and their chances looked forlorn when the side was just dismissed for 119 on a tricky pitch at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan were cruising at 80/3 in reply with Mohammad Rizwan and Imad Wasim at the crease, but Jasprit Bumrah made the key breakthrough and Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh delivered in the clutch overs to ensure India's unbeaten start to the tournament continued.

"This was a big wicket in the context of the game," Rohit recalled of Rizwan's dismissal.

"With where the game was heading, a set batter and Rizwan is such a quality player for them who has got so many runs for them in the past and won them a lot of games.

"So, it was very important to get him out at that time."

While a victory over the arch-rival is always a big moment for India at any ICC tournament, Rohit knew sterner tests awaited his side.

"The Pakistan win was a tick in the box to move ahead in the tournament and nothing else," Rohit said.

"You want to reach Super Eights. It's a tick in a way where we know we are one step closer to Super Eights and nothing else.

"I know you want to beat Pakistan and there is so much hoo-ha around it. But for us it's an opposition that we want to come up against and play well and win. We don't need to think more than that and I don't think we should look at, if we win this, then we’ve won the World Cup. It’s not like that.

“If we beat Pakistan and don't win the World Cup, would everyone be happy witht that? No, right?

“Yes, It's an opposition that we want to beat to move forward in the competition. That's how I look at it."

Orchestrating Australia's defeat

India's strong start to the group stage didn't win them too many accolades, it meant they just progressed through to the Super Eights stage of the event where more difficult challenges remained.

Consecutive victories against Afghanistan and Bangladesh meant they were on the brink of qualification for the semi-finals, but one key match remained as they took on Australia in St Lucia.

Australia had just fallen against Afghanistan and needed to win themselves to reach the semi-finals and Rohit admitted his team still had scars from their loss to the Aussies in the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023.

The skipper himself stood up when it mattered most to smash 92 of just 41 deliveries to help India post 205/5 and a clinical performance with the ball saw India register a 24-run victory and move through to the final four and eliminate Australia at the same time.

"We knew that if we won this contest, then Australia would be out," Rohit recalled.

“That was a decent motivation for all of us: If we win this they can be out. But we can't play a cricket game thinking about what happened last time, and that we have to get back at them.

“It was in the back of our minds, that they spoiled our [prospective win on] 19th November (2023 World Cup Final), not just for us but for the entire country.

“We have to give them a good gift. All these things are in our mind but when I am batting, I don’t think that we’ve to kick them out of the tournament. It’s not like that. We do discuss such stuff lightly in the dressing room, but after toss, when the game is on, it’s all about how you can do the best.”

Rohit smashed eight massive sixes during his match-winning innings, attacking every bowler that the Aussies threw at him during his knock.

"My plan was to attack everyone," Rohit said.

"I know Mitchell Starc quite well and I have played against him for several years.

“I knew he would try to swing the ball after pitching it up, he tries to pitch it right at the top. I had my plans against him.”

Discussing this knock, further, Rohit considered it as one of his finest T20I knocks.

“Hundreds are special. But some of the 70s, 60s that you get in the context of the game and the occasion of the game makes it even bigger.

“This was a World Cup and a World Cup has its own importance. So yes, I have to put it right up there (with my best innings)."

Familiar foe awaits in Guyana

Rohit once again led the way in the cut-throat semi-final with his third half-century of the tournament, but 171/7 seemed a gettable score for England with their strong batting line-up.

It was England openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt that were causing much concern for Rohit and it was Bumrah that once again delivered on the biggest stage to remove the dangerman and put his side on the path to victory and a place in the final.

"If you take early wickets in the Powerplay, half the job is already done as those early breakthroughs are vital,” Rohit said.

"How you get them, and with which bowlers—that’s a tactical decision. But the wickets themselves are non-negotiable.

"Especially for a team like England, their openers—Buttler and Salt—are very strong players. They score most of their runs at the top, so getting them early was critical. Luckily, we got Buttler, who is their key batter. He’s got so much experience and has played cricket all over the world.

"And he’s faced our Indian bowlers a lot—he knows how to play Axar (Patel), Kuldeep (Yadav), Bumrah... he knows all of them well. So getting his wicket was absolutely crucial. We managed to get him in the third over, I think. Then in the very next over, Salt got out and (Jonny) Bairstow followed shortly after.

"At that point, we knew half the job was done. But we still had work to do. But these wickets were important, because their top three or four players can be very dangerous.

"After that, we slowed the game down, brought in the spinners. Kuldeep came and picked up wickets in the middle. Axar bowled well, and so did Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja).

"The pitch was definitely helping the spinners, and my plan was to get the slower bowlers on as quickly as possible."

Keeping celebrations in check

While India had qualified for the final in style, Rohit knew there was still work ahead and wanted to make sure his team kept their celebrations in check that night ahead of the title decider against the Proteas.

"We hadn’t won yet. We’ve played so many semi-finals over the years. Winning this one was important—but it wasn’t something new for us.

“We’d lost against them [England] last time [2022] too, we lost to them in the semi-final in the 2019 World Cup.

"In 2015, in Australia, again a semi-final loss. We’ve lost finals too. The 2023 World Cup final, we lost. In 2014, we lost the T20 World Cup final. In 2017, the Champions Trophy final.

"So this whole cycle of losing in finals and semi-finals—it’s been haunting us for years. That’s why this time, we celebrated quietly. Nothing too loud, nothing over the top. Because we knew we had come here for something bigger.

"Our intent was very clear—let’s celebrate only when the real job is done. After the semi-final, we had a small get-together. But the challenge for us was that we had to leave that very night. We only had one day in between, and the final was the next day.

"Even for that, our flight was really late. We reached Barbados well past midnight—I still remember it was around 1 or 2 AM. Flight delays are pretty normal in the West Indies. But before we reached, we had spoken to the players. We said—logistics are not in our control.

"Let’s not let that distract us. We’re here for a job, so let’s focus on doing it. No complaining, no irritation, no excuses.

“Let’s keep our heads in the right space and play the game and play it well.”

The big day against South Africa

The stage was set for India to break the drought in style and defeat South Africa in the title decider, but the Proteas had other ideas.

Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were cruising at 147/4 and South Africa only needed to score at a run a ball across the final five overs to break their own trophy drought at ICC tournaments.

But Rohit still had two overs from Bumrah up his sleeve and the champion fast bowler picked up a key wicket and kept runs to a minimum as the asking rate slowly began to rise and pressure on the batting side followed suit.

There was still hope for South Africa when they needed 16 from the final over and with Miller still at the crease, but Surykumar Yadav delivered a moment of immense skill that will live in Indian folklore for years to come when he held on to a superb outfield catch on the boundary to all but clinch the victory.

Rohit recalls the moment Suryakumar took the catch on the boundary to dismiss Miller.

"I thought it was gone, and it was a six because I was on the long off. I was standing right opposite Surya," Rohit said.

"I saw this and thought 'Oh shit', (they now need) 10 (runs) off five balls. But then I saw that the ball is coming into Surya’s hands.

"It would have taken a lot of effort to take that catch because when it was in the air it looked like it would cross the rope easily. Maybe the wind pulled the ball a bit into the ground.

"I was standing with Surya. When the umpires were checking the catch and I said 'Surya, tell me. You tell me. I don't want to look there. And he said I have caught it.

"Surya is honestly one of the safest catchers in the team—without a doubt. I haven’t seen him drop many catches. He’s got incredibly safe hands.

"Even in that game against Australia—not the final—he pulled off that stunning catch of David Warner, diving in the slips. And again, in the match against Pakistan in New York, he took that sharp one at first slip to dismiss Babar Azam."

Victory celebration alongside Virat Kohli

The celebrations on the field commenced almost immediately after the final ball was delivered by Hardik Pandya and the Indian players didn't hold back.

There were tears of joy, plenty of hugs and even some impromptu dancing from India's host of stars as Rohit held aloft the trophy he so dearly wanted.

"It meant a lot to all of us, to that group actually, which had seen so much and gone through so much.

"That’s why it was so special for us. Because we worked really hard and we planned really hard day in, day out. Just thinking about how we can win the World Cup.

"The emotion of every player came out during that celebration. Because through our eyes they've also realised that winning a World Cup is not easy.

“Especially for the guys who've not played a lot of World Cup matches or were playing for the first time. They also realise how important it is and nothing can be taken for granted."

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐞 – WATCH NOW on #JioHotstar! Or on Star Sports Network from 26th-29th JUNE, 10 AM IST