Rohit Sharma has revealed a shrewd tactical move by India National Cricket Team wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final that helped the Men in Blue win the contest. Rohit said Pant’s brilliant thought disturbed the rhythm of the South Africa batters.

India defeated the Proteas by seven runs in the mega-match in Barbados. At one stage, the Aiden Markram-led side needed 30 runs off 30 balls, and this was when Pant devised a plan.

Rohit, who attended The Kapil Sharma show along with Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh, recalled the move that impacted the match’s outcome.

“They were going strong with their top batters in th middle. We were tensed and scared but as a captain you needs to be strong. There was a small break when 30 were needed in 30 balls (26 in 24). Rishabh Pant used his mind and stopped the game, saying he has a niggle in his knee and started taping it,” Rohit said.

“The batter was in full flow and would have wanted to face the bowler quickly. We needed to break their rhythm. I was setting the field when I saw Pant on the ground. The physio came out and Heinrich Klaasen was waiting for the resumption. I am not saying that we won just because of that move, but it did helped us. Pant used his brains and we won the match,” he added.

Heinrich Klaasen was dismissed in the 17th over after scoring 52 runs off 27 balls. He tried to hit a delivery outside the off stump from Hardik Pandya and was caught by Pant behind the stumps. Chasing 177, South Africa reached 169/8 as Pandya took three wickets. Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah dismissed two batters each. Earlier, Virat Kohli’s 76 runs off 59 balls took India to 176 runs.