'30 balls, 30 runs, and then a break in play': Shastri looks back on India’s dramatic 2024 T20 WC win
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New Delhi, Nov 10 : Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has revisited the dramatic closing stages of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa, recalling how a brief interruption in play potentially shifted the momentum of the contest when the Proteas appeared firmly in control of the chase.
Shastri reflected on India’s recovery from a position where South Africa needed just 30 runs from the final 30 deliveries, with five wickets still in hand. He highlighted the importance of the break in play involving Rishabh Pant, which came at a crucial stage as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were taking the attack to India.
"30 balls, 30 runs, and then a break in play. And I think we were both (Ian Smith and Ravi Shastri) on air and I said this might just go well for India with Rishabh Pant taking the break, you know. Klassen was going hammer and tongs at the attack. David Miller was with him. And then a wicket, first ball after the break. Things started to change. Game got over," Shastri said while speaking to former New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith in an interview with Sky Sports.
The former India head coach, who was part of the commentary team for the final, also recalled the reaction of former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock as the Proteas suffered another heartbreaking defeat in a major ICC tournament.
“You know, you called the final. And then you were wrapping it up. And I just went at the back of the box while you were finishing it. And there was Polly (Shaun Pollock) in the corner. And so I just looked towards him and he said, the biggest (choke of all time), you know, because they’d got a tag of chokers. And he said, that was the biggest. So I felt for Polly because they came so close. They’ve come so close so many times," he added.
South Africa eventually lost the final by seven runs, allowing India to end their 11-year wait for an ICC title and claim their second T20 World Cup crown. For Shastri, however, the magnitude of the result was also evident in the heartbreak it could have inflicted had the outcome been reversed.
“So I’m glad, in many ways, they won the World Test Championship, and finally got the monkey off the back. But, if you were on the other side, it would have been a very tough pill to swallow. You know, if South Africa had cruised and beaten India, I wouldn’t have had, you know, that much of an issue. But 30 balls, 30 runs. And then to lose it from there with five wickets in hand, oh, you would be gutted," said Shastri.
Shastri reflected on India’s recovery from a position where South Africa needed just 30 runs from the final 30 deliveries, with five wickets still in hand. He highlighted the importance of the break in play involving Rishabh Pant, which came at a crucial stage as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were taking the attack to India.
"30 balls, 30 runs, and then a break in play. And I think we were both (Ian Smith and Ravi Shastri) on air and I said this might just go well for India with Rishabh Pant taking the break, you know. Klassen was going hammer and tongs at the attack. David Miller was with him. And then a wicket, first ball after the break. Things started to change. Game got over," Shastri said while speaking to former New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith in an interview with Sky Sports.
The former India head coach, who was part of the commentary team for the final, also recalled the reaction of former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock as the Proteas suffered another heartbreaking defeat in a major ICC tournament.
“You know, you called the final. And then you were wrapping it up. And I just went at the back of the box while you were finishing it. And there was Polly (Shaun Pollock) in the corner. And so I just looked towards him and he said, the biggest (choke of all time), you know, because they’d got a tag of chokers. And he said, that was the biggest. So I felt for Polly because they came so close. They’ve come so close so many times," he added.
South Africa eventually lost the final by seven runs, allowing India to end their 11-year wait for an ICC title and claim their second T20 World Cup crown. For Shastri, however, the magnitude of the result was also evident in the heartbreak it could have inflicted had the outcome been reversed.
“So I’m glad, in many ways, they won the World Test Championship, and finally got the monkey off the back. But, if you were on the other side, it would have been a very tough pill to swallow. You know, if South Africa had cruised and beaten India, I wouldn’t have had, you know, that much of an issue. But 30 balls, 30 runs. And then to lose it from there with five wickets in hand, oh, you would be gutted," said Shastri.
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