A year on from when India ended their long, painful ICC tournament drought with a famous come-from-behind victory at Barbados to seal the 2024 T20 World Cup, some key players from that unit are revisiting the moment with all the emotion from exactly 12 months ago still raw and coming through.
With the reactions to memories and key moments from that historic match against South Africa coming through thick and fast for a date that holds so much meaning for several of these players, captain Rohit Sharma posted a sentimental and moving video on his Instagram account.
The video is a montage of images of Rohit prone on the floor after the decisive ball was bowled, but also with him lifting the trophy alongside his family, with long-time teammate Virat Kohli, holding Pandya in his arms as they finally got to share a national triumph after years of success with Mumbai Indians but only heartbreak in the national jersey. “This trophy, of course it means a lot for us, but it’s for the entire nation,” says Rohit in a voice-over taken from India’s open bus parade last year.
{{/usCountry}}The video is a montage of images of Rohit prone on the floor after the decisive ball was bowled, but also with him lifting the trophy alongside his family, with long-time teammate Virat Kohli, holding Pandya in his arms as they finally got to share a national triumph after years of success with Mumbai Indians but only heartbreak in the national jersey. “This trophy, of course it means a lot for us, but it’s for the entire nation,” says Rohit in a voice-over taken from India’s open bus parade last year.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit’s video acted as a homage to all his teammates present on this journey with him, showcasing the likes of Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah, as well as clips of the Indian captain dancing alongside Kohli. “A day etched in our memory forever,” read a title card.
Meanwhile, Hardik also shared a video of his own, captioning it along very similar lines to the sentiment shared by his erstwhile captain: “A day I'll never forget. A day we'll never forget. For all of us, India.” Hardik, who bowled that monumental final over and played such a key role throughout the tournament, had a similar montage, full of emotion and heartwarming moments, hitting the floor after the win was sealed and embracing coach Rahul Dravid while his eyes were full of tears after finally achieving that elusive tournament victory.
Hardik Pandya: 'Finally I did it for my country'
“I always manifested me bowling the last over or hitting the last runs of the World Cup winning play,” says Hardik in a voice-over of his own — a dream he certainly achieved. “The six-seven months I had before that, really proud of how I was able to stand up. I was like yeah, finally I did it for my country.”
The T20 World Cup win healed a lot of aching hearts after the heartbreak India had suffered time and again in the recent past, and as far as the country will be hoping, will have opened the floodgates for a streak of extended success — the Champions Trophy victory following on its heels just eight months later a sign of things to come.