Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant recently shared his perspective on Suryakumar Yadav’s crucial catch that sealed India’s victory against South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup final in June. Pant believes that the catch, and ultimately the result, were a testament to the fervent prayers of Indian fans. India’s triumph in the final at Barbados ended their 11-year ICC trophy drought.
India posted a respectable 176/7 in their 20 overs, with Bumrah and Pandya keeping South Africa’s chase in check, restricting them to 169/8. Heinrich Klaasen’s blistering 52 runs from just 27 balls had momentarily put South Africa in a commanding position, but India’s bowlers turned the tide. While Axar Patel’s over proved costly, conceding 24 runs, the trio of Bumrah, Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh tightened their grip on the match. Pandya’s dismissal of Klaasen and Yadav’s catch off David Miller in the final over were pivotal moments that swung the momentum back in India’s favor.
Speaking on Tanmay Bhat’s YouTube channel, Pant reflected on Suryakumar’s catch, saying, “When the ball was in the air, it felt like everything was gone. When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six. The ball did not cross the boundary line because of the Indian fans’ prayers.”
Pant also touched upon his aggressive batting style and his relationships with former coach Ravi Shastri and current captain Rohit Sharma. He remarked, “Abhi Bazball dekh rahe ho toh maza aa rha hai. Jab mein pehle kar rha tha toh acha nahi lag rha tha kya?” (When you see Bazball, you enjoy it, but when I did it before, did you not like it or what?).
He spoke fondly about his time with Ravi Shastri, “It was an amazing relationship. There was a lot of freedom and understanding with Ravi bhai. Instead of telling me not to do something, he would give me a better option. I believe in that approach. I do not like when someone says that this cannot be done.” He recalled a specific instance, “I was getting out to off-spinners very often at one point. He told me that I needed to do something about facing off-spinners. He asked me to start playing the reverse sweep against off-spinners.”
During India’s T20 World Cup campaign, Pant played a pivotal role, emerging as the third-highest run-scorer for India and making 14 dismissals behind the stumps. Looking ahead, Pant will be a crucial part of India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19 in Chennai, and subsequent series, including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The two-match series against Bangladesh will be held in Chennai and Kanpur, starting from September 19 and September 27, respectively.
The Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.
