NEW DELHI: It was on June 29 in Barbados that Rohit Sharma and his men conquered the world by defeating South Africa by 7 runs in the final.
Emotions flowed freely amidst jubilation galore as the whole of India celebrated winning an ICC global trophy after 11 years and their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years.
Former India batsman, VVS Laxman, praised the team’s “resilience” in winning the T20 World Cup “from the jaws of defeat” and stated the players’ and former coach Rahul Dravid’s fervent celebration demonstrated the significance of the victory for them.
“The kind of finish we had after we were under pressure with South Africa batters needing 30 runs off 30 balls. And from there to show character, resilience and self-belief to pull off the match from the jaws of defeat, it shows the character of the entire team,” Laxman said in a video posted by the BCCI on its ‘X’ handle.
“The amount of hard work they put in, the celebrations (by the players and support staff) told the bigger story behind this victory.”
The enthusiastic team celebrations, according to 49-year-old Laxman, who is in charge of Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is currently in Zimbabwe as Team India coach, demonstrated how important the win was to each player and the support personnel.
“Obviously, it is a special feeling winning the World Cup. When you are playing against the best and win the trophy, it means a lot to all the players participating in the tournament.
“Everyone showed their emotions and it showed how much it meant to each and every player in the squad, as well as the support staff, the emotions were really high. You saw Hardik Pandya breaking down once he bowled the last delivery. You saw Rohit Sharma on the ground.
“The entire country is rejoicing this win. It was a special feeling keeping in mind we had come close (to winning the title) six months back (ODI World Cup). We should have won the 50-over World Cup, dominating the entire tournament but not being able to cross the final hurdle,” he said.
Laxman gave particular attention to Dravid’s heartfelt jubilation, despite his habitual dislike of emotional outbursts in public, as per PTI.
“Someone like Rahul with whom I have played so much cricket, knew him for so many years, but for him to show that emotions, first when the last ball was bowled and then the various conversations he was having with the team members and when he lifted the trophy.
“I thought it was a great gesture by Rohit and Virat Kohli to hand over the trophy to him (Dravid) and the way he celebrated by lifting the trophy, it showed how much it meant to each one of them,” said Laxman who paired with Dravid in a memorable Test win against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 when they stitched that famous 376-run partnership after following-on.
Laxman, who has 8781 runs at an average of 45.97 from 134 Tests, praised the performances of skipper Rohit, star batsman Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the T20 format. After winning the T20 World Cup, the three declared their retirement from the T20Is.
“My message to these stalwarts of the game, Virat, Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja, an extremely talented player who has contributed immensely to the progress of the Indian team. Congratulations for the contributions you have made to this great game and set an example to the youngsters to follow. The passion and the pride with which they had played this game is exemplary.
“While they have retired from this format, I am sure they will continue to prepare the way they did so far in their career and continue to bring laurels to the country.
“Big congratulations for an excellent T20 career and I am sure they will continue to contribute in the longer version of the game and in the 50-over format.”
