India captain Rohit Sharma reacts to their nail-biting ICC T20 Cricket World Cup final win over South Africa. South Africa reached just 169 for 8 in reply to India's 176 for 7 with India legend Virat Kohli announcing his T20 retirement after the game
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
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00:00Rohit, if you are asked one factor that led to the emergence of the champions, what would
00:07be and also how was it to gift this victory to Rahul Dravid?
00:14He more than any one of us, I think he deserved that trophy.
00:20What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20-25 years, I think this was the only
00:28thing that was left in his cabinet and I am very happy from all of us on behalf of the
00:35entire team that we could actually do this for him.
00:40You saw how proud he was and how excited he was and really grateful to the occasion for
00:49this to happen as well.
00:53In a game like this, there are a lot of turnarounds.
00:57I actually cannot single out one or two aspects of the game, but looking at where the game
01:04was when four or five overs were left, obviously that wicket of Klasen when Hardik took that
01:12wicket, that was actually very crucial from our point of view.
01:18And then again Miller's wicket at the back in the last over, that catch of Surya of
01:24Hardik's bowling was again superb.
01:27But again you can't forget what the batters did with the bat, Virat getting that runs,
01:33Aksar playing that part and then eventually us finishing off with the score that we finished
01:40And then obviously when we started with the ball, Bumrah, Arshdeep were superb.
01:49I don't know how much I can talk about Bumrah.
01:51Obviously we've been seeing this with him for such a long time now.
01:57Whenever he has ball in hands, he tends to create magic for us every time.
02:01So yeah, I'm very lucky to have players like this in my squad, players who are playing
02:07for me and Team India, really, really grateful and thankful as well.
02:12Rohit, congratulations and you have had so many moments of glory in your career and disappointments
02:20also 2007 and 2008 CB Series, 2013 and Australia Test Series.
02:27Of course 2011 you could not be part of the World Cup and of course Ahmedabad.
02:33Looking back all these things, do you consider this as the greatest moment of your career?
02:38And second, of 30 balls and 6 wickets, how could you motivate the players to, you can
02:43pull it off?
02:50This has to be the greatest time, I can say that, because it's only because how desperately
03:01I wanted to win this.
03:04So all the runs, all the runs that I've scored in all these years, I think it does matter,
03:13but I'm not a big on stats and all of that.
03:19I think winning games for India, winning trophies for India, that is what I look forward to
03:23all the time.
03:24And having this now right beside me probably has to be, I don't know honestly, I don't
03:33know if it's the greatest or what, but it is definitely one of the greatest, I can say
03:37that.
03:41And when I have to look back at certain moments in the game as well, they were really playing
03:50well.
03:51Halfway through the stage we were very much in the game and then the next five overs didn't
03:54go our way.
03:56Klaasen and Miller actually took it on, De Kock played his part as well, but we know
04:03what they are capable with the bat, we do understand that.
04:06But again, the message was very loud and clear to everyone that until the last ball of the
04:13game is bowled, the game is not over.
04:17That's what happens in cricket and you got to believe that and my job as a captain is
04:21to make everyone believe that.
04:24Every time we had ball in hand, whether we got wickets or we didn't get wickets, we wanted
04:31to keep fighting, keep fighting whether we are ahead in the game or whether we are behind
04:38in the game, we wanted to keep fighting because the moments like this will never come again.
04:43This is the final, so you have to give everything that you have inside your body, mind and everything.
04:49And that is what the message was to everyone that let everything out, put whatever you
04:54have in your body, mind, put it in front of us and let's see then what happens.
05:01And I thought the belief that everyone had till the last ball was bowled was to keep
05:07fighting.
05:08Even though we were behind in the game after 15 overs when they required just 30-odd runs
05:13in 5 or 4 overs, the belief was still there, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight and
05:19then eventually we managed to cross the line.
05:23Rohit, since coming to the West Indies, India has batted first in all previous games coming
05:29into the final.
05:30So was that like a templated thing or you thought the conditions deserved that or did
05:34you think scoreboard pressure mattered in the final or did all of this contribute to
05:37batting first here also?
05:40I think I'm a believer of just having runs on the board in big games.
05:47That's how my mind works.
05:49It is not necessary that everyone thinks like that in the team, but I have a decision to
05:56make and I made it very clear that no matter how the pitch is, whatever it is, we have
06:02to try and put runs on the board and then fight it out.
06:05You have the talent in your bowling and I have seen what the guys have done with the
06:10ball.
06:11So I had that confidence that whatever score we have, we can try and defend it.
06:17And that's exactly what happened as well.
06:23I know the result came in our favour, but even though if the result didn't come in
06:28our favour, I would have still completely backed the decision of batting first.
06:32Although I thought the pitch really played well, throughout the 40 overs the pitch was
06:36really good.
06:37It didn't grip as such which we really thought it would after the first half, with the sun
06:46beating down so hard, there's no grass on the pitch, looks a lot drier.
06:52But obviously a lot of rolling water must have gone in there to make it nice and hard.
06:59But yeah, that was the thought.
07:03And we were very clear with that decision as well, that we want to put runs on the board
07:07and try and defend it later.
07:08Rohit, hi, firstly congratulations, I wanted to ask you about Virat Kohli announcing his
07:15retirement today.
07:16How do you look back at his journey?
07:18You've shared some of the most ups and downs with him, your moments with him, just how
07:24do you look back at all of it?
07:27He's been a champion player without a doubt and we all know what he has done for us.
07:36And at some point everyone has to say goodbye to the game and Virat obviously was very clear
07:49that this is what he wanted to do and he was very clear before the start of the tournament
07:53as well.
07:55And I'm very happy for him, that he batted like he did in the finals, I know the quality
08:04that he has, the big games and all of that, he's going to come good.
08:09And when we wanted him the most, he came out and performed the way he did.
08:14So very happy looking at his career, obviously he's been a champion player, we know, we can
08:19see the stats and everything there.
08:22But yeah, nice way to sign off from this format.
08:49Zaroori toh hai, main believe karta hoon ki jo likha hai wo hone wala hai, I think yeh
08:56likha tha, but obviously tumko pata nahi hai match ke pehle ki yeh likha hai, yeh hi toh
09:01khele, yeh hi game hai, nahi toh hum log aaram se aate chalo likha hai, jeetne wala hai.
09:08But I think everything has to fall in place, abhi jaise aapne dekha ki hum bohot peeche
09:12de game ke ek time pe lag raha tha aasani se jeet jayenge wo log, wicket bhi acha chal raha
09:18hai, unki batting ache se ho rahi thi, humare bowlers jo mujhe options jo bhi use karne
09:24the, Bumrah ka over 18 aave over mein khatam ho gaya tha, toh yeh sab cheez zaruri tha,
09:34plan mein fit hona, aur jaise aapne bola ki ache log ke saath acha hota hai, I mean aapne
09:42bol diya matlab main acha ho.
09:44Rahul bhai bhi?
09:46Rahul bhai bhi.
09:48So hum log kaafi Rahul bhai ke liye bhi main bohot khushu hu yaar, unhone itna, Indian
09:53cricket ke liye itna kuch kiya hai, jab khelte the aur abhi bhi coaching jab kar rahe, pichle
09:593 saal unhone kaafi mahinat kiya hai iss team ke saath, unke jo instincts hai unko kaafi
10:06baar dabane pade, kyuki ladko, ladko ka jo wavelength hai wo match karna itna aasaan
10:12nahi hai, toh Rahul bhai ne apne aapko dabaya, samjha ki ladko ko kya chhiye, wo priority
10:18aage dali, toh ye sab cheez karna kisi ke liye bhi itna aasaan nahi hota hai, Rahul bhai
10:22ne wo cheez kiya, poori team ke liye wo kiya, unhone samjha ki ladko ko kya zarurat hai,
10:27ladko ko kya dena zaruri hai, kyuki eventually kaam humi logon ko karna hai, Rahul bhai
10:35toh batting nahi kar rahe, toh Rahul bhai ka ye saath dena team ke liye bohot zaruri
10:43tha, aur jaise mene bola ki unhone itne saal, teen saal as a coach team ke saath itna mahinat
10:51kiya hai, ladko ko itna clear rakha hai ki aapka role kya hai, aapko kya karna hai,
10:55jo ladke nahi bhi hai iss team mein, jo ghar mein bhi hai, unke saath bhi lagataar baat
11:00karte rehna, unko batate rehna ki kya ho raha hai team mein, kya baachit ho rahi hai,
11:04tum kab team mein aa sakte ho, agar aauge hai toh tumhara kya role hoga, ye sab cheez
11:10Rahul bhai itne studious toh hai hi, toh unhone ye cheez pe sabse pehle ye cheez pe dhyaan
11:19diya tha, jab wo aaye the ki humko ladko ko batana hai ki unse hum kya chahate hai, kyuki
11:2511 ke 11 log force hai, aur wo force agar ek saath milke khilenge, toh ek bada force
11:30ban sakta hai, toh Rahul bhai ne uss cheez me kaafi saath diya, mera bhi, aur team ko
11:35bhi kaafi support kiya
11:37Hi Rohit, congratulations first, you have spoken in bits and pieces about the last three
11:44overs, we almost died in the press box, but I would like you to go through those three
11:51overs in the end and what was the talk that was going on and how was Hardik being motivated
11:58I think see, the talk, strategy wise it was very simple to try and make them hit on the
12:07other side of the wind, because the wind was blowing across the ground quite rapidly and
12:16it was the average, I don't know how much the average wind per hour and all of that
12:22but it was quite heavy, so the plan was to make them hit on the other side of the ground
12:29and then obviously when Bumrah came to bowl that 18th over, as much as we wanted the wicket,
12:37we wanted to build that pressure as well on the opposition by bowling dot ball, so I had
12:42to get the fielders in the right place, getting the straighter fielders in, standing in front
12:50of the square because I thought the nature of the wicket didn't allow batters to hit square
12:55of the pitch as much, it was easy to hit down the ground and with Bumrah's angle,
13:01with the reverse swing coming in play a little bit as well, we knew that if we can keep stumps in
13:08play as much as possible, the runs will be hard to come by as well and if they make mistake by not
13:13getting the bat right where the ball is, there is a chance we can get a wicket as well and Bumrah
13:20nearly knocked Miller off in the first ball which he missed and then he got wicket of Makho there,
13:26so that was crucial for us, that over was crucial and then followed up greatly by
13:31Arsdeep as well, he gave a three over run, bowled a three over run and then in the end it was 16 or
13:3717 required and then the plan was to just slightly go outside of Miller's arc, don't give him any
13:45hands and yeah, Surya took a brilliant catch there and then obviously it was just to bowl full
13:56to the other batters, not to give them any elevation and it was very nice to see that
14:05Hardik was very calm as well, no matter how many runs is required, you still got to bowl that over
14:11and bowled it well as well, so for him to bowl that over and getting that crucial wicket of
14:18Miller also was very important from the team's standpoint.
14:28Rohit, that catch of Surya, if you can just go through the emotions of him taking that catch
14:36and that weight and do you think kind of this catch is on a par with Kapil's 83 catches?
14:53In the hindsight, if you look at it, every moment that happens, it has its own charm,
14:59own way, so I don't like to compare it, I am not a big comparison fan,
15:07but yeah, I was standing at long off, so I could clearly see Surya there and he is very calm under
15:14pressure, he has got brilliant hands and the moment he took that catch, I knew that he is inside,
15:20I was very calm, you could see I was celebrating already, but still, until the scoreboard says
15:29out, it is not out yet, but I knew that it was an out and I started already thinking about the
15:37other 5 balls that we have to bowl to the other batters. And Rohit, on your own international
15:45career, do you think you will be there for a while longer, how do you see yourself?
15:50No, no, this was my last game as well. Honestly, I have enjoyed since the time I started playing
16:04this format and nothing better time to say goodbye to this format, I have loved every moment of this,
16:13I started my India career playing this format and this is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup
16:20and say, thank you.
16:27Rohit, is that just T20s, just to check, just T20s international, can you just,
16:31so you still play ODIs and tests?
16:33Yeah, very much.
16:35When you sunk to your knees at the end, what was going through your head at that point?
16:38When you dropped to your knees at the end after the final ball, what was…
16:42It was very emotional, I wanted this badly, you know, so,
16:47very hard to put it in words because that moment, I don't want to say what I was thinking and what
16:55was going in my mind but it was a very emotional moment personally for me and I am going to,
17:01I wish I could capture that moment myself but not really, you can't do that, but I will always
17:07remember that. Yeah, those are the moments you wait for and then you don't plan these things,
17:14it just happens because you are so desperate for certain things in life and I was very
17:21desperate for this in my life. So, happy that we eventually crossed the line this time.
17:30Thank you.