[Watch] Rohit Sharma does a Novak Djokovic, eats soil from Barbados pitch after emotional 2024 T20 World Cup triumph
Team India captain Rohit Sharma ate a piece of soil from the pitch in Barbados where the Men in Blue won the 2024 T20 World Cup final on Saturday, June 29, to end their 11-year ICC title drought. The Indian skipper's heartwarming gesture was similar to that of tennis legend Novak Djokovic, who eats some grass after every win at Wimbledon as part of his victory celebrations.
In a thrilling finale to the 2024 T20 World Cup, Team India beat South Africa by seven runs at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Batting first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue recovered from a horror start to post a competitive 176-7 on the board. They then mounted a strong comeback at the end with the ball to restrict the Proteas to 169-8.
Several pictures and videos of Team India's post-match celebrations have gone viral on social media. ICC's official Instagram handle shared a clip of an emotionally drained Rohit eating a piece of soil from the Barbados pitch after India's memorable triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
The video was shared with the caption:
"One for the memories 👌."
Rohit was dismissed for 9 in the final against South Africa. However, he had a memorable tournament overall and finished as the second-leading run-getter in the 2024 T20 World Cup. In eight innings, the right-handed batter smashed 257 runs at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.71, with a best of 92.
"This has to be the greatest time" - Rohit reflects on much-needed World Cup glory
Under Rohit, Team India have suffered a few heartbreaks in ICC knockout matches in the last couple of years. It wasn't surprising then that the Men in Blue described the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph as the greatest time of his career.
"This has to be the greatest time, I can say that. It's only because how desperately I wanted to win this. So, all the runs, all the runs that I've scored in all these years, I think it does matter, but I'm not big on stats and all of that," Rohit said at the post-match press conference.
"I think winning games for India, winning trophies for India, that is what I look forward to all the time. And having this now right beside me probably has to be, I don't know, honestly, I don't know if it's the greatest or what but it is definitely one of the greatest, I can say that," he added.
Following the triumph, the Indian captain also announced his retirement from T20I cricket, after Virat Kohli had done the same earlier. Incredibly, Rohit and Kohli retired as the top two leading run-getters in the format.