Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has vividly recounted the nail-biting climax of India's 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa. He highlighted a crucial moment where a brief interruption in play, involving Rishabh Pant, significantly altered the game's momentum, just when the Proteas seemed to have the chase under control.

Shastri reflected on India's remarkable comeback when South Africa needed only 30 runs from 30 balls with five wickets still in hand. "30 balls, 30 runs, and then a break in play," Shastri recalled during an interview with Sky Sports alongside Ian Smith. "Klaasen was going hammer and tongs... David Miller was with him. And then a wicket, first ball after the break. Things started to change. Game got over." This pause, he believes, allowed India to regroup and strategize.

He also shared former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock's poignant reaction to another ICC tournament heartbreak. "There was Polly (Shaun Pollock) in the corner... he said, 'the biggest (choke of all time).' I felt for Polly because they came so close. They’ve come so close so many times."

India's seven-run victory ended an 11-year drought for an ICC title, securing their second T20 World Cup. Shastri emphasized the emotional weight of such a victory, stating that losing from that position would have been an incredibly tough pill to swallow for any team.

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