Rohit Sharma and his boys have done it as India registered a famous 7-run victory over South Africa in the ICC T20 WC Final held at Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 29, 2024. Batting first, India piled on a massive 176 on board, courtesy of Virat’s 76 and Axar’s 47. The veteran looked his attacking self in the beginning with three fours in the first over. However, the loss of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Surya Kumar Yadav meant Virat had to drop down the anchor. But after 17 overs of India’s innings, Kohli opened up his shoulders against Rabada by hitting him for six and four off consecutive balls.
Indian Bowlers Took Charge in the ICC T20 WC 2024 Final
After India put on a massive 190, it was time for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and other bowlers to continue their good work. And they didn’t disappoint either by picking wickets at regular intervals. The South African wicketkeeper batter Quinton De Kock along with Tristan Stubbs and Henrich Klassen did put up a fight by hitting boundaries. But smart captaincy, brilliant bowling and exceptional ground fielding won India the ICC T20 WC 2024 final. De Kock tried to repeat the earlier stroke by pulling Arshdeep Singh into the fine leg region that fetched him a six. However, he could not time it properly this time around and Kuldeep Yadav took a good catch to get rid of him. But Klaasen and Miller went on offensive with the former clubbing Axar Patel for more than 20 runs in the 15th over.
Then came Hardik Pandya and took the vital wicket of Klaasen and suddenly, the pressure mounted on the Proteas. They started feeling the pressure of the occasion as Bumrah bowled Marco Jansen out and Arshdeep bowled a superb 19th over. Hardik Pandya held the nerve in the last over by picking Miller in the very first ball as Surya took a brilliant catch at the boundary ropes and then bowled well enough to seal India a 7-run victory. The 11-year drought ended with this fabulous win.
Award Presentation in T20 WC 2024 Final
Player of the Match – Virat Kohli
Player of the Series – Jasprit Bumrah
What Was the Scenario Before the T20 WC Final?
Two unbeaten and evenly matched teams – India and South Africa – went head-to-head in the summit clash of the T20 WC 2024 at Bridgetown, Barbados. After nearly a month of intense on-field action between 20 teams in the initial league phase, followed by Super 8 and Semi-final encounters, we got to this day. While India wanted to end the 11-year drought of being unable to win the ICC tournament, South Africa wanted to taste the World Cup glory for the first time. So, it was always going to be a cracker of a contest.
The Road to the T20 WC 2024 Final for Team India
India were the favourites to lift the T20 WC 2024 given their massive strength in batting and bowling. The only worry was the uncertain nature of the pitch in the USA and West Indies. However, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian unit was a cohesive unit with each one supporting the other in this massive world cup campaign.
Warm-up Fixture
They started with a comprehensive 60-run victory over Bangladesh in the warm-up fixture. Even though it was a warm-up, the comprehensive victory showed to the world the things to come.
Group A Games
India vs Ireland Encounter
The real games began with India outclassing Ireland by 8 wickets. Bowling first, India restricted Ireland to a mere 96 in 16 overs. In response, India raced to the target in 12.2 overs losing just two wickets in the process, courtesy of the half-century by the skipper Rohit Sharma.
India vs Pakistan – The Biggest Clash in Group A of ICC T20 WC 2024
It was the turn of the Mother of All the Clash – India vs Pakistan. Both Indian and Pakistani contingents filled up the New York Stadium with shades of blues and greens. Amid the rousing reception, two captains strode forward to the toss where the man with the loudest voice Ravi Shastri embraced the occasion with a larger-than-life presentation. He set the tempo that the two teams carried on in a rather two-paced surface. India, which were looking solid at 89 for 3 at the end of 11 overs, slipped to 119 all out in 19 overs. A shoddy performance with the bat, no doubt. But credit to Pakistan for detailing India’s batters.
However, the Rohit Sharma-led unit refused to buckle under pressure. They stemmed the flow of runs by bowling in good areas. Pakistan, which were cruising at 57 for 1 at the end of 10 overs, found themselves reeling at 80 for 4 at the end of 14 overs as the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian bowling outfit outsmarted the Pakistani batters with clever change of pace and length. From there, India kept the pressure on and won the game by six runs in a low-scoring thriller.
India vs USA Was a Thrilling Encounter
India’s next game in T20 WC 2024 was against the Co-host USA, which came to this game on the back of a thrilling win against Pakistan. Batting first, the USA put on 110 for 8, with Nitish Kumar being the leading scorer with 27. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers by snaring four wickets.
In reply, India were struggling as Virat Kohli was out for a duck nicking an away-going delivery bowled by Saurabh Netravalkar to the wicket-keeper Andries Gous. He was joined by captain Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in the Indian dugout. It was 39 for 3 at the end of 7.3 overs, and the pressure mounted on India as 110 seemed like 130 on that uneven New York surface. However, Surya Kumar Yadav and Shivam Dube shared an unbeaten 72-run stand that helped India win by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare.
Super 8 Round
India were placed in Group 1 of the Super 8 Round of the ICC T20 WC 2024. This is how they fared in this round.
India vs Afghanistan ICC T20 WC 2024 Encounter
India first met Afghanistan at Kensington Oval, Barbados, on June 20, 2024. They batted first and scored 181, powered by Surya Kumar Yadav’s 53 off 28 balls and 32 from Hardik Pandya. Afghanistan, while chasing, were never in the game as wickets fell like no pins as Bumrah and Arshdeep broke their back with three wickets each, whereas Kuldeep Yadav picked two wickets. India opened their Super 8 campaign with a 47-run win over Afghanistan.
India vs Bangladesh Was a No Contest for Men in Blue
Next up was a fixture against Bangladesh against whom India had recorded a win in the warm-up fixture. India started off brilliantly batting first as Rohit Sharma plundered Bangladesh bowlers in his customary style. However, in a bid to continue pressing the accelerator, he perished while trying to lift the ball out of the park. He scored a breezy 23 off 11 balls. Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube scored 30s, while Hardik Pandya shone with 50 off just 27 balls. India posted a daunting 196 on board.
Bangladesh started well with the opening pair of Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan sharing 35 off 4.2 overs. Hardik Pandya, who shone with the bat, got rid of Litton Das. From there, Indian bowlers tightened the screws as wickets fell at regular intervals. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep picked two wickets each to restrict Bangladesh to 146 for 8. India won the game by 50 runs.
India vs Australia T20 WC 2024 Match
The last fixture in the Super 8 round came against Australia where India again batted first and exploded like they did against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the previous two games. Buoyed by a blistering 92 off 41 balls by Rohit Sharma, India galloped to 205 for 5. Australian bowlers were put to the sword as Rohit and Surya pounced on both good and bad deliveries bowled by the Aussie bowlers. In reply, Australia were rocked early as Arshdeep Singh got David Warner edged to the first slip where Surya took a good low catch.
Then followed an assault from Travis Head and captain Mitchell Marsh as they shared an 81-run partnership for the second wicket. It took the brilliance of Axar Patel to get Marsh out. The Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh pulled a short delivery off Kuldeep Yadav to deep square leg where Axar jumped to perfection to take an unbelievable catch. After that, India had a lid on the game even though Travis Head was going big. India soon got rid of him and won the game by a comfortable 24-run margin.
Semi-final Clash Against England in ICC T20 WC 2024
India went to the Semi-final with enormous confidence having beaten Australia in their previous game. It was England who stopped India by beating the Men in Blue in the Semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup. It was payback time for England as India put on more than a par score of 171 on a slow and low surface at Guyana. England caved in their chase as Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets each with Jasprit Bumrah snaring two wickets to hand India a comfortable 68-run victory.
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