Not Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya! Imran Tahir credits this player for India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph

Former South African bowler Imran Tahir has credited India's T20 World Cup 2024 victory to Rohit Sharma's captaincy against South Africa in the final match. Imran Tahir stated that Rohit Sharma kept himself in a better position despite pressure situations in the summit clash of the ICC tournament.

Team India secured a thrilling victory against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on June 29. The Men in Blue ended their 11-year drought with a victory in the T20 World Cup final. Rohit Sharma became the second Indian captain, after MS Dhoni, to lead the team to a T20 World Cup title.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements from T20Is. Kohli expressed his desire to see the next generation take over in the T20 format. Meanwhile, Rohit mentioned in the post-match press conference that retiring with a trophy was the perfect way for him to say goodbye to the T20 internationals.

South Africa More Needed This World Cup - Imran Tahir

In an interview with Sports Tak, Imran Tahir said that he wanted South Africa to win the World Cup, as the team is yet to secure an ICC trophy. Tahir acknowledged Rohit Sharma's outstanding captaincy as one of the main reasons for their success in the final match.

“As a South African, I think that if the history of this country had changed, then this country would have had a positive vibe. I think that South Africa more needed this World Cup than India because India has already won 2-3 World Cups. But at the end of the day, they played excellent cricket. Rohit Sharma showed great captaincy. His players played well and in pressure situations, he kept himself in a better position. This is the main reason for India's success,” Imran Tahir told Sports Tak.

South Africa required 30 runs from 30 balls with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller batting. Rohit brought back Jasprit Bumrah to the bowling attack. Their momentum was disrupted when Hardik Pandya dismissed Klaasen. South Africa fell short by seven runs in their quest for their first T20 World Cup title.

Virat Kohli Didn't Do This For The First Time - Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir praised Virat Kohli for his match-winning knock in the final match. Tahir highlighted Kohli's ability to perform under pressure, describing him as a big player in the modern era. He stated that Kohli consistently delivered numerous knocks in big matches.

“Look, he is a player like that. He didn't do this for the first time. You are a big player, you are a player of big matches. And he every time he has batted in pressure situations. He batted 350-400 times, Virat didn't do it once. He batted 10-20-30-40 times. He is a big player of the modern era. He can score runs in any situation. But it is obvious. I think the team and captain's backing was that they didn't have to worry about the match. They could have done it in one match, but they did it in one match, but that was the most crucial match that made them win the World Cup,” added Tahir.

Virat Kohli struggled throughout the tournament, leading up to the final match. The right-handed batter played a crucial innings of 76 runs in the T20 World Cup final to help the team reach a total of 176 runs after losing three quick wickets. Kohli was named "Player of the Match" for his batting heroics in the final.

Also read: "Captain can't always win the game" - Brett Lee provides support to Mitchell Marsh despite T20 World Cup failure