NEW DELHI: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant on Sunday shared insights on Suryakumar Yadav’s crucial catch that secured India’s victory against South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup final in June. Pant credited the catch and the result to the prayers of Indian fans.
India ended its 11-year ICC trophy drought with a seven-run victory in the final at Barbados.
India posted 176/7 in their 20 overs, with Bumrah and Pandya restricting South Africa to 169/8. Heinrich Klaasen’s quick 52 runs from 27 balls had put South Africa in a strong position, but India’s bowlers turned the game around.
Axar Patel’s over was expensive, giving away 24 runs, but the trio of Bumrah, Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh tightened their grip on the match. Pandya’s wicket of Klaasen and Yadav’s catch off David Miller in the final over were pivotal moments.
Pant, speaking on Tanmay Bhat’s YouTube channel, reflected on Surya’s catch, “When the ball was in the air, it felt like everything was gone. When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six. The ball did not cross the boundary line because of the Indian fans’ prayers.”
Pant also commented on his aggressive style of play and relationships with former coach Ravi Shastri and current captain Rohit Sharma.
“Abhi Bazball dekh rahe ho toh maza aa rha hai. Jab mein pehle kar rha tha toh acha nahi lag rha tha kya?” (When you see Bazball you enjoy it, but when I did it before did you not like it or what?),” Pant remarked.
“It was an amazing relationship. There was a lot of freedom and understanding with Ravi bhai. Instead of telling me not to do something, he would give me a better option. I believe in that approach. I do not like when someone says that this cannot be done. I was getting out to off-spinners very often at one point. He told me that I needed to do something about facing off-spinners. He asked me to start playing the reverse sweep against off-spinners,” he recalled.
During India’s T20 World Cup campaign, Pant played a crucial role, being the third-highest run-scorer for India and making 14 dismissals behind the stumps.
Looking ahead, Pant will be part of India’s squad for the Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19 in Chennai, and subsequent series, including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
The two-match series against Bangladesh will be held in Chennai and Kanpur, starting from September 19 and September 27, respectively.
Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.
India ended its 11-year ICC trophy drought with a seven-run victory in the final at Barbados.
India posted 176/7 in their 20 overs, with Bumrah and Pandya restricting South Africa to 169/8. Heinrich Klaasen’s quick 52 runs from 27 balls had put South Africa in a strong position, but India’s bowlers turned the game around.
Axar Patel’s over was expensive, giving away 24 runs, but the trio of Bumrah, Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh tightened their grip on the match. Pandya’s wicket of Klaasen and Yadav’s catch off David Miller in the final over were pivotal moments.
Pant, speaking on Tanmay Bhat’s YouTube channel, reflected on Surya’s catch, “When the ball was in the air, it felt like everything was gone. When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six. The ball did not cross the boundary line because of the Indian fans’ prayers.”
Pant also commented on his aggressive style of play and relationships with former coach Ravi Shastri and current captain Rohit Sharma.
“Abhi Bazball dekh rahe ho toh maza aa rha hai. Jab mein pehle kar rha tha toh acha nahi lag rha tha kya?” (When you see Bazball you enjoy it, but when I did it before did you not like it or what?),” Pant remarked.
“It was an amazing relationship. There was a lot of freedom and understanding with Ravi bhai. Instead of telling me not to do something, he would give me a better option. I believe in that approach. I do not like when someone says that this cannot be done. I was getting out to off-spinners very often at one point. He told me that I needed to do something about facing off-spinners. He asked me to start playing the reverse sweep against off-spinners,” he recalled.
During India’s T20 World Cup campaign, Pant played a crucial role, being the third-highest run-scorer for India and making 14 dismissals behind the stumps.
Looking ahead, Pant will be part of India’s squad for the Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19 in Chennai, and subsequent series, including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
The two-match series against Bangladesh will be held in Chennai and Kanpur, starting from September 19 and September 27, respectively.
Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.