[Watch] Rohit Sharma nonchalantly asks Rishabh Pant to calm down after overexcited keeper screams for catch during AFG vs IND T20 World Cup match
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant were involved in a fun moment during the Afghanistan vs India 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 match at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados on Thursday, June 20.
Pant called loudly for a catch after Gulbadin Naib miscued one off Kuldeep Yadav in the Group 1 clash. Skipper Rohit, who was nearby when the keeper completed taking the skier, seemed to be telling him in his inimitably casual style that the catch was always his.
India hammered Afghanistan by 47 runs on Thursday. Batting first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue put up an impressive 181-8 as Suryakumar Yadav hammered 53 off 28, while Hardik Pandya contributed 32 off 24. In their chase, Afghanistan were bowled out for 134 as Jasprit Bumrah claimed 3-7 and Arshdeep Singh 3-36.
Kuldeep, who came into the playing XI in place of Mohammed Siraj, got his first wicket when he foxed Naib (17 off 21) with a googly. In an attempt to break the shackles, the Afghanistan batter tried to go after the wrong'un but only ended up miscuing the delivery.
As he ran for the skier, Pant was seen calling for the catch quite vociferously. After the gloveman completed the catch, it appeared as if Rohit was asking him to calm down. While it's not clear from the clip what the Indian captain had said, from his action it seemed that he was trying to tell Pant that the catch was always his.
After completing the running catch, Pant was seen cheekily throwing the ball towards the captain after which the two celebrated the wicket of Naib. This was the fourth wicket to fall in Afghanistan's innings.
Chasing 182, they got off to a poor start as Bumrah dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11) and Hazratullah Zazai (2) in his first two overs. Axar Patel also chipped in with the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran (8) as India hurt Afghanistan big time in the powerplay.
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant failed with the bat
While India beat Afghanistan easily eventully, Rohit and Pant had disappointing outings with the willow. Rohit (8 off 13) struggled for momentum and miscued an attempted big hit off Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Pant (20 off 11), meanwhile, was trapped lbw by Rashid Khan as he missed his reverse sweep. India also lost Virat Kohli (24) and Shivam Dube (10) cheaply, but Suryakumar and Hardik Pandya (32 off 24) rescued the Men in Blue with a fifth-wicket stand of 60.