“Rishabh Pant Sahab used his smarts, and things worked out in our favour” - Rohit Sharma on T20 World Cup 2024 victory

Former Team India T20I captain Rohit Sharma has revealed how the keeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s smart tactic worked out in the team’s favor against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 Final in Barbados.

Notably, Rishabh Pant halted the game after suffering a knee injury during South Africa’s chase, which broke the momentum of the batting side. While it wasn’t the only reason behind India’s win, it turned the tide from that moment for the Men In Blue, according to Rohit Sharma.

"When South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls, just before that, there was a small break. Pant used his intelligence to pause the game - he had a knee injury, so he had his knee taped, which helped slow down the game, because the game was fast-paced, and at that moment, all a batter wants is the ball to be bowled quickly,” Rohit Sharma told JioHotstar.

“But we had to break the rhythm. As I was setting the field and talking to bowlers, suddenly I saw Pant fall on the ground. 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," he added.

The break completely shifted the momentum towards India as Heinrich Klaasen lost his wicket to Hardik Pandya a few balls later. Rohit also asserted that he thought Pant had actually hurt himself because of the car accident he had had a few years earlier.

"See, Hardik has come to bowl there. So, we were discussing with Hardik what to do. I didn't know what had happened before. I genuinely thought that something had happened to him. 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. So, I think we went back to that. Eventually, Hardik dismissed Klaasen," he concluded.

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