Rohit Sharma Admits to Panicking After Early Collapse in T20 World Cup Final, Hails Virat Kohli’s Composed Knock

Rohit Sharma, despite failing to score big in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final, ended the tournament as India's highest run-getter with 257 runs.

Rohit Sharma Admits to Panicking After Early Collapse in T20 World Cup Final, Hails Virat Kohli’s Composed Knock

Rohit Sharma reflected on how he panicked during the 2024 T20 World Cup final, and on Virat Kohli's match-winning knock. (via NDTV Sports)

Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma, who guided the national team to T20 World Cup victory in 2024, recently opened up on how he panicked during the final, against South Africa. The 38-year-old reflected on how Virat Kohli’s knock eased his nerves, after an early batting-order collapse. 

India defeated South Africa in the final of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in Barbados, to lift the trophy for the second-time. However, the win was a hard-fought one, amid horrors of India’s disastrous 2023 ODI World Cup final defeat to Australia. The Men in Blue, in the T20 World Cup final, batted first to set a target of 176 runs. The Proteas could only manage 169 runs in response, falling short by a seven runs in a thrilling encounter.

South Africa appeared in control, with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller on the pitch. Klaasen seemingly shifted momentum in the Proteas’ favor by smashing 24 runs off Axar Patel‘s 14th over, making the required run rate a run-a-ball. However, a death bowling masterclass from Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya saw them concede only 22 runs in the last five overs, to secure the win for India.

While all of these factors contributed to Team India being crowned champions, it was Virat Kohli who earned the POTM award for his decisive 76-run knock off 59 deliveries. The 36-year-old anchored the team after an early batting order collapse, which saw in-form skipper Rohit Sharma getting dismissed on just nine runs, followed by the wickets of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession.

Rohit Sharma reflected on the emotional rollercoaster that he experienced, while India was batting, in a recent conversation on JioCinema. He admitted to panicking and feeling very uncomfortable in the dressing room after the early collapse, fearing India had given up. However, the 38-year-old stated that Virat Kohli’s presence at the crease and his match-winning knock ultimately dispelled his anxieties.

I was panicking. I wasn’t comfortable. I thought we’d let them into the game… The experience of playing for India [for Virat Kohli] so many years helps.

Kohli then forged two crucial partnerships, one with Axar Patel, and the other one with Shivam Dube, to take India past the 150-run mark. Moreover, the Indian captain also made a special mention about Axar Patel’s unsung 47-run knock in the final as the ‘game-changer’. Rohit Sharma underlined the significance of the T20 World Cup win for the Indian players, especially after their near-miss in the 2023 final.

Not many people are talking about Axar’s [Patel] knock, but it was the game-changer. Scoring 47 off 31 at that stage was vital.

Subsequently, following the T20 World Cup win, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from the shortest format of the game. Sharma and Kohli also retired from Test cricket a year later, in 2025, and now have their eyes focused on winning the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup. 

Old Video of Rohit Sharma Scolding Yashasvi Jaiswal Resurfaces After His Dropped Catches Against England

An old video of former Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma scolding the young Yashasvi Jaiswal has resurfaced, after the latter dropped crucial catches in the first Test against England. India went on to suffer a humiliating five-wicket defeat to the Three Lions in the series opener, at Headingley in Leeds. 

Rohit Sharma scolds Yashasvi Jaiswal
An old video of Rohit Sharma scolding Yashasvi Jaiswal over his fielding has emerged, following the latter’s missed catches against England. (via Hindustan Times)

Jaiswal dropped as many as four catches across both the innings, including those of Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook. To this, an old video of him fumbling while fielding during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy went viral. The clip shows Rohit Sharma humorously scolding Jaiswal, by asking him if he was playing ‘gully-cricket’ before asking him to stay low until the ball is played by the batter.

Despite his poor fielding, the young Mumbai batter did make it up with a century in the first innings against England, helping India reach a total of 471. However, Jaiswal could not replicate that performance in the second innings, falling for just four runs to Brydon Carse.