"Didn't know then whether he genuinely needed the treatment" - Team India pacer on Rishabh Pant's injury break during 2024 T20 World Cup final
Team India pacer Arshdeep Singh said the players were initially unsure if Rishabh Pant was genuinely injured and needed treatment against South Africa. The incident occurred in the waning stages of the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados.
The Proteas needed only 26 off the final four overs and Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were going strong. Just then, Pant called the physio to attend to his knee during the break between the overs.
The stop in play ultimately broke Klaasen's rhythm as he was dismissed for a 27-ball 52. South Africa collapsed after his dismissal and suffered a heartbreaking seven-run defeat to continue their World Cup drought.
Talking about the moment at the 'Champions' session of Agenda AajTak, Arshdeep was quoted by India Today as saying:
"At that moment, when we needed 30 runs off the last three balls, there was a small break when Rishabh bhai was receiving treatment from the physio. At that point, I felt like it could be a game-changing moment, maybe even a tactical move. We didn't know then whether he genuinely needed the treatment or not."
The left-arm pacer credited Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah for back-to-back game-changing 17th and 18th overs.
"But after that, when Hardik bhai took the wicket and Jassi bhai created immense pressure, that's when the team started believing we could win the match from there. We just stuck to the plan, executed it well, and got the result we wanted," said Arshdeep.
Arshdeep himself bowled a sensational penultimate over, conceding only four runs with the Proteas requiring 20 to win. He finished with excellent figures of 2/20 in his four overs and was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps.
"I was telling the physio, that you take your time, keep wasting the time" - Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant revealed a few months back that he only acted injured. He wanted to break the rhythm and flow of runs from the well-set South African duo of Klaasen and Miller in the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
The victory broke India's 11-year ICC trophy and 13-year World Cup drought as they clinched their second T20 World Cup title.
In a viral video on social media, Pant talked about his injury break ( via Johns. X account) and said:
"I was thinking about this. Because suddenly the momentum shifted. There were a lot of runs in 2-3 overs. So, I was thinking, when will this moment come again when you are playing in a World Cup final. So, I was telling the physio, that you take your time, keep wasting the time. He was asking me if I was okay. I told him I'm just acting.
"Sometimes in such a match situation, I am not saying that it works every time, But sometimes it works. And if it works in such a moment, you want nothing else."
The Men in Blue also became the first-ever side to go unbeaten in a T20 World Cup, winning all eight of their completed games.