T20 WC 2024: Indian captain Rohit Sharma led the team to their first T20 World Cup victory in 17 years on Saturday. After the win, the mood in the Indian camp was emotional as they celebrated the long-awaited triumph. Rohit appeared deeply moved, clapping and lying on the ground in joy. He was seen sharing emotional moments with teammates Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya.
Rohit Grass Eating Moment
One moment that grabbed attention was Rohit eating grass from the Barbados pitch. While Rohit hasn’t commented on it, this act could symbolize taking a piece of the victorious pitch with him. The video, shared by ICC on Instagram, has gone viral with over 1.7 million likes.
Interestingly, Rohit’s celebration resembled that of tennis star Novak Djokovic, who eats grass from Wimbledon’s court after his wins since 2014. Rohit also attempted (unsuccessfully) to imitate Lionel Messi’s trophy lift at the presentation ceremony.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s fairytale ending of T20 career
Time heals everything, they say, and it did for Rohit Sharma. Seven months ago, he was an emotional wreck, but on Saturday, his joy knew no bounds. Rohit teared up, hugged his partner-in-crime, Virat Kohli, and announced his retirement from T20Is with a grin on his face. It was a rare and fulfilling moment for him.
India needed Virat Kohli’s anchoring role in the final after they were 34 for 3 on a bright morning in Barbados against a formidable South African bowling unit. Kohli scored 50 off 48 balls, one of his slowest innings in the format, but he accelerated towards the end, finishing with 76 off 57 balls and helping India post a total of 176, the highest in a men’s T20 World Cup final.
In the match, Virat Kohli’s brilliant knock of 76 runs off 59 balls helped India post 176 runs for 7 wickets. The game came down to the wire as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller threatened to take it away from India with some powerful hitting. But Hardik Pandya struck at a crucial moment, dismissing Klaasen and bringing India back into the game. Rohit Sharma, who also bowled the penultimate over, dismissed Miller with the first ball of that over. He kept his nerve and finished the over with precision, securing India’s T20 World Cup title.
With Rohit Sharma deciding to play only ODIs and Tests from now on, it remains to be seen who will fill his place in T20Is. Shubman Gill has been named captain for the Zimbabwe tour, while Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav have been given a rest after the hectic T20 World Cup campaign.