Rohit Sharma discloses how India risked getting fined after Pant’s ‘injury’ ploy to win T20 WC

It did go noticed with eagle-eyed fans having shared screengrabs and clips of that moment, while former India head coach Ravi Shastri applauded the act during commentary, but for the first time in three months, captain Rohit Sharma disclosed how Rishabh Pant’s ‘knee injury’ play helped India beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on June 29. Rohit further disclosed that India also risked being fined during the final overs of the match.

Speaking on ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’, Rohit recalled the moment when South Africa were in absolute control of the chase with 30 required of the final 30 balls with well-set Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller at the crease. However, just when the India captain was setting the field for the next over and having a word with bowler Hardik Pandya, he noticed Pant was down on the ground with the team physio attending him.

Rohit reckoned that Pant’s injury ploy, which caused a short delay in the game, was key in breaking South Africa’s momentum. And although he did not credit that moment entirely for India’s title win, he did acknowledge Pant’s smarts.

“When South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls, just before that, there was a small break. Pant used his intelligence to pause the game – he had a knee injury, so he had his knee taped, which helped slow down the game – because the game was fast-paced, and at that moment, all a batter wants is the ball to be bowled quickly. But we had to break the rhythm. As I was setting the field and talking to bowlers, suddenly I saw Pant fallen on the ground. The physiotherapist had arrived and was taping his knee. Klassen was waiting for the match to start again. I am not saying it’s the only reason, but it could be one of them – Pant Sahab used his smarts and things worked out in our favour,” he said.

‘We were willing to be fined’

Rohit, speaking to Kapil Sharma, also revealed that right after Hardik dismissed Klaasen upon resumption, he gave his teammates the freedom to sledge the South Africa batters and keep them distracted. The 37-year-old admitted that he and the players was willing to take the risk of getting fined at the cost of scripting a title win.

“That is what happened. Hardik dismissed Klaasen in that over, and from then onwards, pressure started to build on South Africa. Then all the boys gathered and started to sledge their batters, details of which I can’t disclose here, but it was essential because we had to win at any cost. To win that, we were willing to take a few fines. That is why I told the boys to say whatever they felt like; we would handle the umpires and referees later,” he added.