His pants _ torn during the match.

Explanation

Option A, "is," is the present tense form of the verb "to be," which is not appropriate for a past event. Option B, "are," is the present tense form of the verb "to be," which is not appropriate for a past event. Option C, The sentence uses the past tense to describe an action that occurred in the past, so the correct verb to use is "were," which is the past tense form of the verb "to be." "Pants" is a plural noun, so "were" agrees with the plural subject. Option D, "was," is the past tense form of the verb "to be," but it is not appropriate for a plural subject.