India got off to an absolute flyer with the bat in the T20 World Cup 2024 final. Marco Jansen pitched the ball fuller in search of swing and Virat Kohli was up to the task, driving and flicking to hit three boundaries off the first over.
The introduction of Keshav Maharaj from the other end was on the cards given left-arm spin is a pet peeve of India’s current opening pair. Rohit seemed to be flipping that narrative as he fetched consecutive boundaries to kickstart the over, but his sweetly-timed sweep on the fourth delivery of the over was caught by the man standing beside the square leg umpire.
The Indian captain managed 257 runs from eight innings in this World Cup, averaging over 40 with a strike rate in excess of 155. Rishabh Pant fell to the sweep shot as well, leaving India in a spot of bother at 23/2.
The hole got deeper for the blue brigade when Kagiso Rabada removed Suryakumar Yadav cheaply. However, Virat Kohli dropped anchor and was helped substantially by Axar Patel who did most of the heavy lifting after being promoted up the order. Axar’s superb 47, and a late flourish from both Kohli and Shivam Dube – the two players who have struggled all tournament – took India to a strong total of 176/7 in Barbados.
South Africa also suffered a couple of early blows but a counter attacking Tristan Stubbs and a vigilant Quinton de Kock put them back on track. Heinrich Klaasen nearly nipped the chase in the bud with his 27-ball 52, butchering the spinners to prune the equation down to an easily manageable 30 off 30. However, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya coerced South Africa into a bottlejob in the last five overs to seal a seven-run victory that handed India their first ICC title since 2013.
This catch and Surya Kumar Yadav have become immortal.. pic.twitter.com/ju5B7fpkOr
— Shrin (@ShrrinG) June 29, 2024
