Precisely one year since India won the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup with a stunning seven-run victory over South Africa in Barbados, captain Rohit Sharma has made clear the key moments of the final and the build-up that preceded it.
In an interview with JioHotstar, Rohit shared that Suryakumar Yadav's incredible boundary catch for dismissal of David Miller at the key juncture was the most indelible moment of the title encounter for him.
"Surya was at long-off, and that catch—sincerely, it turned the game," said Rohit. "From my position at long-on, it was going six for sure. But Surya jumped, timed it right, and pulled it back from behind the rope. The wind might have saved it just enough to take it back slightly."
He said, "Everyone stood there with their breath. Even after catching it, the umpires were watching whether he'd crossed the boundary. I was standing next to him through the review. I asked him, and he said, 'I believe I've caught it.' The zoomed footage indicated the rope remained motionless, which typically indicates that it hadn't been touched. That brought some sort of relief. You never know until the third umpire validates it.
The World Cup victory provided a fairytale finish to Rahul Dravid's tenure as head coach. Rohit said that it took a team effort to convince Dravid to continue after the heartbreak in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
"Rahul bhai was willing to call it quits after the ODI World Cup last year," Rohit said. "But we made him try one more time, with the T20 World Cup only six months away. He consented, and I'm so grateful he did. I'm pretty sure he feels the same now."
For Rohit, one of India's heroes in its first T20 World Cup victory in 2007, the title in 2024 was deeply personal. "This is where my journey started," he explained. "To return after all these years and hold up the trophy again—it was so emotional."
The euphoria of the final had been preceded by a top victory in the semi-final against England in Guyama. The memories of the humiliating 2022 semi-final defeat to the same opponents lay fresh in the minds of the players, and Rohit explained how the team had trained assiduously to prevent a repeat.
"Before the semi-final, I was quietly confident," Rohit explained. "We were playing consistent, high-quality cricket all through the tournament. All of us were chipping in. But of course, the 2022 England defeat lingered in our minds—it had to.
"That loss taught us a lot. From mindset to prep, we revamped everything between 2022 and 2024. We prepared to be ready for those big moments, and we had a clear game plan."
One of the biggest learnings, according to Rohit, was the need to strike early. "In T20s, wickets in the powerplay are so important—it can decide the game. Against England, we knew Buttler and Salt were dangerous. But Buttler was the big threat. He knows our bowlers—Axar, Kuldeep, Bumrah—so well."
"When we sent Buttler away in the third over and Salt a little later, we knew we were halfway to the final. Then we introduced our spinners—Kuldeep, Axar, and Jaddu—and they were tremendous. The surface was spinning-friendly, and we wanted to get them in there as early as possible."
With India declared champions and memories still vivid a year on, Rohit's reminiscences highlight not just the tactical genius but the emotional intensity behind a title that was everything to him and to Indian cricket.
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