'Bhaiyaa, Bas Acting Kar Raha Tha': Rishabh Pant Admits Pretending to be Injured in T20 WC Final | WATCH

The final of the T20 World Cup had kept the fans hooked to their TV screens until Rohit Sharma and his boys made one of the biggest turnarounds to emerge victorious. South Africa were in a comfortable spot chasing 177 at Barbados. But the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya collectively pulled off a stunning bowling show to stun the Proteas. They lost 4 wickets in quick succession, letting India excel in the crunch situation. As a result, the men in blue pocketed the contest by 7 runs and became the world champions.

Months after the historic triumph, skipper Rohit Sharma revealed in a TV show that wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant pretended to be injured to break the momentum of the Proteas.

“Rishabh Pant’s strategic thinking during a crucial moment in a match may have played a key role in their victory. When the team needed 30 runs off 30 balls, a short break occurred. Pant cleverly used this time to disrupt the batsman’s rhythm by pretending to be injured, which slowed down the game. This tactical move could be considered a significant factor in the win,” Rohit revealed.

Recently, the wicketkeeper-batter himself admitted that with five overs remaining in the South African innings, he pretended to get hurt and even asked the physio to waste a little time.

“The momentum had shifted in their favour and they scored too many runs in just two-three overs,” said Pant while speaking at a Star Sports event in Bengaluru.

“I told the physio to take his time as we need to waste it a bit. Rohit bhai asked me if I’m okay, I said, ‘Bhaiyaa, bas acting kar raha tha (It was just acting, I’m okay)’.”

Pant went on to add that such tactics don’t work in a team’s favour but if it did in a crucial World Cup final then he would be happy to accept it.

“I’m not saying that such tricks work every time. But if the moment is like this [the T20 World Cup final] then why not,” he added.