Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opened up on the Men in Blue's second ICC T20 World Cup title win, saying that the feeling has not sunk in completely and he wants to live each and every moment to the fullest. A fine exhibition of death bowling by the trio of Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya and stupendous knocks by Virat Kohli and Axar Patel helped India end their ICC trophy drought, securing their second ICC T20 World Cup title by beating first-time finalists South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final at Barbados on Saturday.
In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket of India (BCCI), Rohit said that the feeling of winning the tournament is surreal and it still feels like a dream, since the team had worked for it since a long time.
"Yeah, the feeling actually is surreal. I would still say it has not sunk in totally. It has been a great moment. Right from when the game got over till now, it feels like a dream. We still feel that it has not happened. Although it has happened, but it feels like it has not happened. That is the emotion, that's the feeling that you have. We have dreamt about this for such a long period of time. We worked hard as a unit for such a long period of time and to see this now with us feels quite, you know, relieved as well because when you work hard for something and you eventually get it at the end, it feels nice. Last night, I mean, We were having a good time," said Rohit.
The skipper said that the team celebrated their win till the next morning, causing him to miss out on his sleep, but it was worth it.
"We had a blast with the teammates till very early morning. So again, I would say I did not sleep properly. But that is absolutely fine by me. You know, not to have sleep after a day like that, I am totally fine. There is a lot of time for me to go back home and sleep. So I am going to catch up on that. But again, like I said, this moment was very, very special for all of us. And I want to live it. I want to live each moment, each second, each minute that is passing by. I want to make the most of it. See, those things are actually not... I do not think I can describe that because nothing was scripted. It was... It was all... You know, whatever was coming instinctively," he said.
On his act of tasting the soil of Barbados pitch, Rohit said that the pitch helped them get their moment and he wanted to have a piece of it with him. He also said that he would remember the Kensington Oval ground in Barbados forever.
"You know... I was feeling the moment when I went to the pitch because that pitch gave us this. We played on that particular pitch and we won the game, that particular ground as well. I will remember that ground forever in my life and that pitch as well. So I wanted to have a piece of it with me. So yeah, those moments are very, very special. And the place where all our dreams came true, I wanted something of it. That was the feeling behind it," he concluded.
In the final match of the tournament, India won the toss and opted to bat first. After being reduced to 34/3, a counter-attacking partnership between Virat Kohli (76) and Axar Patel (47 in 31 balls, with one four and four sixes) of 72 runs restored India's position in the game. A 57-run stand between Virat and Shivam Dube (27 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to 176/7 in their 20 overs.
Keshav Maharaj (2/23) and Anrich Nortje (2/26) were the top bowlers for SA. Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram took a wicket each.
In the run chase of 177 runs, Proteas was reduced to 12/2 and then a 58-run partnership between Quinton de Kock (39 in 31 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Tristan Stubbs (31 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) brought back SA into the game. A half-century by Heinrich Klaasen (52 in 27 balls, with two fours and five sixes) threatened to take the game away from India. However, Arshdeep Singh (2/18), Jasprit Bumrah (2/20) and Hardik Pandya (3/20) made a fine comeback in death overs, keeping SA to 169/8 in their 20 overs.
Virat secured the 'Player of the Match' for his performance. Now, by securing their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2013, India has ended their ICC trophy drought.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)