South Africa failed to chase 30 off 30 balls with six wickets in hand in the T20 Word Cup final.
South Africa suffered a heartbreaking seven-run defeat at the hands of India in the T20 World Cup 2024 final at Barbados in June.
The Proteas lost a match that they should have won, imploding with the bat in their chase of 177. They brought the equation down to 30 off 30 deliveries with six wickets in hand but were not able to handle nerves in the death overs.
While Indian bowlers were credited for the rescue act, a clever strategy from wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant went unnoticed, something that was highlighted by the T20 World Cup winning skipper Rohit Sharma on Netflix's popular show The Great Indian Kapil Show.
When South Africa needed 26 off the last 24, with rampaging Heinrich Klaasen in readiness to smash the next bowler to seal victory, Pant called for a medical time-out. The physio came to the ground and put some tape around his knee.
"They had a lot of wickets left and set batters were on the group. We were feeling the tension, we were scared as well, but a captain needs to have a strong face at that moment. No one knows this but when 30 were needed in 30 [26 in 24], there was a small break. Rishabh Pant used his brains and stopped the game, saying he has a niggle in his knee and started taping it," Rohit said.
"At that moment, the batter wants the ball to be bowled quickly because he is in flow. We needed to break the rhythm. I was setting the field, talking to the bowler and then I saw Pant on the ground, the physio was there and Klaasen was waiting for resumption. I'm not saying that was the reason for the win, but it could be. Pant used his brains and we won," he added.
Once the play resumed, India got the success straightway as Klaasen was dismissed by Hardik Pandya, which also triggered South Africa's lower-order collapse.
Jasprit Bumrah got rid of Marco Jansen in the next over, while Hardik claimed two more wickets in the final over to end India’s 11-year-long ICC trophy drought.