Watch: 'GOAT' Rohit Sharma eats Barbados pitch soil as he imitates Novak Djokovic's famous act

India skipper Rohit Sharma imitated tennis legend Novak Djokovic's celebration style by eating soil following the Men in Blue's thrilling victory during the T20 World Cup 2024 final match. Rohit Sharma's unique celebration after the nail-biting final against South Africa quickly went viral across social media platforms.

Rohit Sharma led India to a thrilling seven-run victory over South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29. The Men in Blue secured the T20 World Cup trophy after a gap of 17 years. Sharma's leadership was instrumental in the Indian team’s comeback in the summit clash.

Watch - Rohit Sharma Imitate Tennis Legend Novak Djokovic's Celebration

Following India's victory over South Africa, Rohit Sharma was spotted eating a few strands of soil from the pitch. The Indian skipper also patted the pitch in a gesture of respect before leaving as media persons rushed to capture the moment. The ICC shared the video on their official social media handle.

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Novak Djokovic has eaten grass from the court following his Wimbledon wins since 2014. Rohit attempted to emulate Lionel Messi's trophy-lifting celebration at the presentation ceremony.

Rohit Sharma had an impressive tournament despite being dismissed for nine in the final against South Africa. The 37-year-old finished as the second-highest run scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He scored 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.71, with his highest score of 92.

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20 internationals during the post-match presentation. The right-handed batter became the third Indian captain to win a World Cup after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni. He was also part of India's T20 World Cup-winning campaign in the inaugural edition in 2007 in South Africa.

Rohit Sharma Is An Amazing Man - Axar Patel

Speaking after the match, Axar Patel praised Rohit Sharma's leadership, describing him as an amazing leader. Patel also credited Rahul Dravid for creating an environment where players could perform without pressure and give their best. Axar added that Dravid asked him to pad up early due to early wickets.

"(On Rohit Sharma) He is an amazing man, he led Team India very good in this World Cup, and Rahul bhai gave everything to us so that we can enjoy it without putting pressure, just do our best. (On being promoted up the order) Not today, I thought I was going down the order but when we lost 3 wickets early, Rahul bhai told me that Axar, please pad up. I didn’t get a lot of time to think about my batting and that worked for me," Axar Patel said.

Under Rohit Sharma's leadership, Team India had faced disappointments in ICC knockout matches in recent years, including the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup 2023. However, the victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup final is seen as the pinnacle of his career.

Also read: Hardik Pandya dismisses leading India in T20 World Cup 2026 while praising Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli