India win T20 World Cup after thrilling battle with South Africa
Bridgetown, Barbados, AFP: India won the T20 World Cup title with a thrilling seven run victory over South Africa in a classic final at Kensington Oval on Saturday. Virat Kohli’s 76 led India to a strong 176-7 but after Heinrich Klaasen blasted a superb 52 from 27 balls South Africa were closing in on victory only to be halted by some outstanding Indian bowling at the end.South Africa ended on 169-8 with Hardik Pandya taking 3-20 for India to the delight of the huge Indian following at the stadium. Kohli had struggled in the tournament but he delivered his best innings at the perfect moment with his balanced batting.
It was just what was needed for India who had slipped to 34 for three after their captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat.
In what has been a low scoring tournament, the total looked to be a daunting one for South Africa but then Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) set the Proteeas on their way before Klaasen turned the game in their direction in the 15th over, smashing Axar Patel for 24 including two fours and two sixes.
When Klaasen was finally removed, caught behind off Hardik Pandya, the Proteas needed just 26 off the last 23 balls. Knowing they had to take the initiative, Rohit turned early for Jasprit Bumrah’s final over and he answered the skipper’s call perfectly, bowling Marco Jansen and conceding just two runs in the 18th over.
That meant South Africa needed 20 from the final two overs and Arshdeep Singh bowled a superb length to allow just four.
With 16 to win off the last over, Pandya bowled a full-toss at Miller who smashed it high straight down the ground but Suryakumar Yadav produced a breath-taking catch on the boundary, throwing the ball back into play before he crossed the ropes and then returning to complete the catch.
Kagiso Rabada came in and edged a four and Pandya showed some nerves with a wide but the seamer kept his cool to ensure silverware for India after they lost in last year’s 50 Over World Cup on home soil.
| Scoreboard | |
| India Rohit Sharma c Klaasen b Maharaj 09 Virat Kohli c Rabada b Jansen 76 Rishabh Pant c de Kock b Maharaj 00 Suryakumar Yadav c Klaasen b Rabada 03 Axar Patel run out 47 Shivam Dube c Miller b Nortje 27 Hardik Pandya not out 05 Ravindra Jadeja c Maharaj b Nortje 02 Extras (nb1, w6) 07 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 176 Did not bat: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Sharma, 1.4ov), 2-23 (Pant, 1.6ov), 3-34 (Yadav, 4.3ov), 4-106 (Patel, 13.3ov), 5-163 (Kohli, 18.5ov), 6-174 (Dube, 19.4ov), 7-176 (Jadeja, 19.6ov) Bowling: Marco Jansen 4-0-49-1, Keshav Maharaj 3-0-23-2, Kagiso Rabada 4-0-36-1, Aiden Markram 2-0-16-0, Anrich Nortje 4-0-26-2, Tabraiz Shamsi 3-0-26-0 South Africa Reeza Hendricks b Bumrah 04 Quinton de Kock c Yadav b A. Singh 39 Aiden Markram c Pant b A. Singh 04 Tristan Stubbs b Patel 31 Heinrich Klaasen c Pant b Pandya 52 David Miller c Yadav b Pandya 21 Marco Jansen b Bumrah 02 Keshav Maharaj not out 02 Kagiso Rabada c Yadav b Oandya 04 Anrich Nortje not out 01 Extras (b1, lb4, nb1, w3) 09 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 169 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Hendricks, 1.3ov), 2-12 (Markram, 2.3ov), 3-70 (Stubbs, 8.5ov), 4-106 (de Kock, 12.3ov), 5-151 (Klaasen, 16.1ov), 6-156 (Jansen, 17.4ov), 7-161 (Miller, 19.1ov), 8-168 (Rabada, 19.5ov) Did not bat: Tabraiz Shamsi Bowling: Arshdeep Singh 4-0-20-2, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-18-2, Axar Patel 4-0-49-1, Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-45-0, Hardik Pandya 3-0-20-3, Ravindra Jadeja 1-0-12-0 |
| Kohli announces retirement from T20s | |
 Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20 Internationals following India’s thrilling 7-run victory over South Africa in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup. He was named Player of the Match for his outstanding 76 off 59 balls, which played a crucial role in helping India secure their second World T20 title. “This was my last T20 World Cup, and this is exactly what we wanted to achieve,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation on Saturday. “One day, you feel like you can’t get a run, and then this happens. God is great. It was a now-or-never situation, and I’m glad we lifted that cup in my last T20 game for India.” He added, “Yes, I have announced my retirement from T20Is. This was an open secret. I would have announced it even if we had lost. It’s time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward. It’s been a long wait to win an ICC tournament. Look at someone like Rohit, who has played in nine T20 World Cups; this is my sixth. He deserves this.” Kohli, who made his T20 debut in June 2010, appeared in 125 T20Is and scored 4188 runs, including one century and 38 half-centuries. He finishes as the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is, behind Rohit Sharma. |