New Delhi [India], October 5 : Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday revealed the reason behind his iconic gesture of eating a piece of Barbados' Kensington Oval pitch following India's T20 World Cup title win, which ended the team's 11 year-long ICC title drought.
"Bas yahi tha, ki humne itne saal ka mehnat Kiya hai aur uss pitch pe hum khelte hai, uss pitch se hume Khushi milti hai, uss pitch pe hume dukh bhi milta hai, toh mujhe bas chakna tha woh final jeetne ke baad mitti ka taste kaisa hai," Rohit said in the Great Indian Kapil Show Season 2 on Netflix.
(It was just that we have worked so hard for so many years and we have played on the same pitch, we have got happiness from the same pitch, we have also got sadness on the same pitch, so I just wanted to know the taste of the soil after winning the final).
It was a priceless answer from the Team India skipper: after all the hard work, he just had to know what victory tasted.
The iconic Kensington Oval was the stage for this dramatic final where India faced off against South Africa. The match was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Sharma led from the front both as a captain and a batter. His strategic decisions and crucial knocks were instrumental in guiding India to their T20 World Cup victory after seventeen years.
However, it was his unique celebration that stole the spotlight post-match. Sharma bent down, scooped up a piece of the pitch, and put it in his mouth. This gesture, though unusual, symbolized a deep connection with the game and the ground that witnessed their hard-fought victory.
Rohit also ended the tournament with 257 runs in eight games at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of over 156. His best score was 92 and scored three half-centuries in the competition to become the second-highest run-getter.
India ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought as Virat Kohli (76), Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) starred in Men in Blue's seven-run win over South Africa in the final at Barbados on June 29. Virat's masterclass knock helped India reach 176/7 in 20 overs, while Bumrah and Pandya unleashed a pace choke on Proteas, who were once riding on the high of a 27-ball 52 by Klaasen, snatching the match from a losing position to restrict Proteas to 169/8 in their 20 overs.