India finally wins the T20 World Cup trophy under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy! IND vs SA T20 WC 2024 Finals
Finally, the Indian cricket team successfully concluded their 11-year drought period of lifting an ICC trophy. Rohit Sharma and his men secured a thrilling 7-run victory against South Africa in the finals to win the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy in the Caribbean nation. On 29th June 2024 (Saturday), Team India under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy became the new world champions in the T20 format after 17 years.
On a slow and dry pitch at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown (Barbados), the Indian skipper’s decision to bat first proved to be beneficial for his team despite a shaky start in the first innings. Especially, Virat Kohli’s comeback in a crucial tournament stage anchored his team’s innings by scoring the first half-century of this season.
In the 2nd innings, the South African batters started on a struggling level but managed to inch closer to chasing the highest target ever in the history of the T20 World Cup final.
Mainly, the bowling performance of Jasprit Bumrah (2-18 in 4 overs), Arshdeep Singh (2-20 in 4 overs) and Hardik Pandya (3-20 in 3 overs) played a crucial role in restricting South African batters from chasing the target despite Axar Patel leaking too many runs in the 16th over of the match.
Let’s decode the facts about how Virat Kohli achieved the man of the match award with his slowest fifty which later became the turning point of the match in a highly pressurized finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 final. Also, it would be interesting to find out how the Indian batters propelled Team India to the highest total in a T20 World Cup final and South Africa’s process of getting choked in the crucial phases of the ICC tournaments.
Team India’s Batting performance to achieve the highest total in a T20 World Cup final match
Here’s a journey of how India scored 176-7 in 20 overs after recovering from a sluggish start in the powerplay overs:
Massive First Over:
As an opening batter, Virat Kohli struck three fours, which resulted in 15 runs coming off from the first over bowled by the left-arm pacer Marco Jansen.
Back-to-Back Huge Blows:
After striking two consecutive fours in the 2nd over bowled by Keshav Maharaj, Rohit Sharma was finally caught by Heinrich Klaasen at the backward square leg. As a result, India’s most explosive opening batter had to depart after scoring just 9 runs from 5 balls.
Within no time India had to face another huge blow as the South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock grabbed a fantastic catch to dismiss Rishabh Pant for a silver duck in the same over.
Trouble in Powerplay Overs:
Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal after scoring just 3 runs from 4 balls, worsened the situation which slowed down India’s approach in the powerplay overs with a score of 45-3 in 6 overs.
Kohli-Axar Partnership:
Virat Kohli and Axar Patel stitched a 72-run partnership that eventually revived India’s innings from a collapsing start.
Unfortunately, Axar Patel fell 3-runs short of scoring his maiden half-century in the T20 World Cup after Quinton de Kock’s direct throw at the non-strikers’ end resulted in a run-out dismissal. However, Axar’s 31-ball-47 runs (including 1 four and 4 sixes) provided sufficient time for Virat Kohli to find his form.
Virat Kohli’s slowest half-century: An aggressive performance in the death overs
Virat Kohli took 48 balls to reach his first half-century in this tournament, which is indeed one of the slowest fifty ever in the T20 World Cup finals. However, the 35-year-old right-handed batter switched to attacking mode by scoring 28 runs in the next 10 deliveries.
Marco Jansen once again took a crucial wicket in the match as Virat Kohli had to depart after scoring a brilliant 76 runs from 59 balls (including 6 fours and 2 sixes).
Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya’s performance: A Finishing Touch
A late flourishing performance from Shivam Dube (27 runs from 16 balls — including 3 fours and 1 six) and Hardik Pandya (5 runs from 2 balls— including a four) guided India to 176-7 in 20 overs.
Bowlers lead India to a thrilling victory against South Africa
At one stage, it seemed South Africa would chase the target conveniently with the aggressive batting style of Heinrich Klaasen. But, the brilliant contribution from the Pacers helped to claim a last-over thrilling victory from South Africans
Quinton de Kock’s explosive start:
After the quick dismissals of Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram, who scored 4 runs each, South Africa faced an early blow but Quinton de Kock’s 39-ball-31 runs (including 4 fours and 1 six) stabilized the innings.
Axar Patel: A Prey to Heinrich Klaasen’s explosive batting style
Once Quinton de Kock departed, it was Heinrich Klaasen, who completely dismantled the Indian bowling attack by scoring 52 runs from just 27 balls (including 2 fours and 5 sixes). Especially, Axar Patel became prey to Klaasen’s attacking batting style and conceded 24 runs in the 16th over, which is the most by any bowler in a T20 World Cup final.
Pacers rescuing Team India
After Axar Patel’s over, the equation became simpler for South Africa as they required 26 runs from 24 balls.
However, Jasprit Bumrah took the responsibility of bowling the 17th over and concluded Heinrich Klaasen’s innings to keep the entire fans and team’s hopes alive of winning the finals. Subsequently, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh found ways to restrict South Africa’s flow of runs.
A Last Over Drama
The last over bowled by Hardik Pandya was the most thrilling moment of the match as South Africa required 16 runs from 6 balls with David Miller on strike. Suryakumar Yadav’s stunning catch at the boundary ensured Miller’s dismissal (21 runs from 17 balls) in the first ball of the last over.
Once again Suryakumar took a spectacular catch of Kagiso Rabada’s in the same over to make the chase impossible for South Africa. Ultimately, Hardik Pandya became a national hero and gave a perfect response to the critics, who slammed him severely during his bad days of IPL 2024.
Rohit Sharma becomes India’s successful captain: Conclusive Facts
The Hitman— Rohit Sharma, who was a part of the T20 World Cup 2007 winning squad led by MS Dhoni, has once again won the prestigious trophy as a captain after 17 years. As a result, Rohit Sharma with 8 consecutive wins in a single T20 World Cup tournament, leveled the record of South Africa and established himself as one of the most successful Indian captains after MS Dhoni in cricket history.
Especially, Suryakumar Yadav’s fielding skills by taking two catches in a crucial moment of the match accelerated Team India’s victory.
While receiving the “Player of the Match” award, Virat Kohli revealed to the fans that this was his last T20 World Cup and would step away to provide young talents to secure their spots in the shortest format of cricket. Whereas, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah achieved the “Player of the Tournament” award.
Finally, the T20 World Cup 2024 concludes with an emotional celebration as millions of fans around the world have experienced one of the most joyful moments of winning an ICC trophy under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy after a long wait of 11 years.