India Triumphs in T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Power India to World Cup Victory
Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, Team India has emerged as the T20 World Cup champions. In a suspenseful thriller of a final, India defeated South Africa to proudly claim the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 title.
The final match took place in Bridgetown, West Indies, where India secured victory by 7 runs to become the champions.
In this match, Team India batted first and scored 176 runs for 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In response, South Africa managed 169 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs.
At one point, Heinrich Klaasen’s batting threatened India’s position, but timely bowling by Hardik Pandya turned the game around. Dismissing Klaasen was the turning point of the match.
Klaasen scored 52 runs off 27 balls, including 2 fours and 5 sixes.
In the final over, South Africa needed 16 runs from 6 balls. Hardik Pandya, who bowled the last over, delivered excellently to secure a historic victory for Team India.
On the first ball of the over, David Miller hit a powerful shot, but Suryakumar Yadav’s stunning catch on the boundary line turned the match. Had the catch been missed, it would have been a six.
In the same over, Rabada was also dismissed, virtually ending South Africa’s hopes. Pandya took two wickets and conceded only 8 runs in the over.
Looking at South Africa’s innings, opener Quinton de Kock scored 39, Tristan Stubbs made 31, and David Miller scored 21 runs.
Among the Indian bowlers, Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets each, and Axar Patel took 1 wicket.
Bumrah’s superb bowling in crucial stages restricted runs and shifted the match in India’s favor. By delivering dot balls, he put South Africa under pressure, and Hardik Pandya completed the task.
Earlier, in the Indian innings, Kohli‘s batting was the highlight. Despite losing 3 wickets for just 34 runs, Team India managed to put up a fighting score thanks to Kohli’s resilience.
Kohli scored 76 runs off 59 balls, while Axar Patel and Shivam Dube contributed 47 and 27 runs, respectively. Kohli was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ for his valuable innings.
This is Team India’s second T20 World Cup title. After winning the T20 World Cup in 2007 under Dhoni’s captaincy,
India has now reclaimed the title. Although India reached the finals in 2014, they were defeated by Sri Lanka then.
Overall, this is India’s fourth ICC title. After winning the ODI World Cup in 1983, the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011, and now the T20 World Cup in 2024, India has established a rich legacy.
With this T20 World Cup 2024 victory, Team India will receive a prize of INR 19.95 crores, while the runner-up South Africa will receive INR 10.64 crores.
On the other hand, the South African team is deeply disappointed by this defeat.
This was their first-ever final in World Cup history, and failing to win the cup left the players in tears.
Indian players, overwhelmed with joy after winning the cup, expressed their emotions vividly.
As Hardik Pandya bowled the last ball, Rohit Sharma fell to the ground in jubilation, hitting the turf in celebration. Hardik Pandya cried tears of joy.
Notably, this was the last event for Rahul Dravid as the coach of Team India. By winning this World Cup, the players gave Dravid a grand farewell. Dravid, too, was deeply moved by the victory, and the players lifted him up in celebration.