Rohit Sharma reveals Pant's tactic to slow down T20 World Cup final

India’s captain Rohit Sharma has revealed the tactics employed by wicketkeeping batter Rishabh Pant to slow down the proceedings of the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa.

During an appearance on Netflix’s “The Great Indian Kapil Show” alongside Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh, the opening batter recalled the team’s victory in the ultimate game of the tournament.

India restricted South Africa to 169/8, defeating the Proteas by seven runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 final at Kensington Oval.

“They had a lot of wickets left and set batters were on the group. We were feeling the tension, we were scared as well, but a captain needs to have a strong face at that moment. No one knows this but when 30 were needed in 30 [26 in 24], there was a small break. Rishabh Pant used his brains and stopped the game, saying he has a niggle in his knee and started taping it,” Rohit Sharma said.

According to India’s captain, batters want the ball to be bowled quickly because they are in flow.

Read more: David Miller recalls last over dismissal in T20 World Cup 2024 final

“We needed to break the rhythm. I was setting the field, talking to the bowler and then I saw Pant on the ground, the physio was there and Klaasen was waiting for resumption. I’m not saying that was the reason for the win, but it could be. Pant used his brains and we won,” he said.

The final of the T20 World Cup 2024 saw India post 176 for seven after star batter Virat Kohli scored the first fifty of the tournament.

Despite losing early wickets, South Africa fought back to reach 151 over the loss of four wickets after 16 overs, needing only 26 runs from the last 24 balls.

However, Rishabh Pant went down because of what looked like a knee niggle before the 17th over.

He called for the physio to attend to him on the field, leading to a brief delay which broke the rhythm of South African batter Heinrich Klaasen.

As soon as play resumed, Hardik Pandya dismissed Klaasen with the first ball of the over, shifting the momentum in India’s favour.