Former India coach Ravi Shastri has picked his favourite moments from the 2024 T20 World Cup. The renowned commentator picked Jasprit Bumrah’s spell against Pakistan and South Africa in the final and praised the fast bowler for his heroics throughout the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah was the main factor behind India winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. Not because of the number of wickets he took in the tournament, but because of the way he changed the complexity of the game and helped India win matches in difficult situations throughout the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah started the tournament on a good note as he won the Man of the Match award in the match against Ireland but his performance was even better in the match against Pakistan. The fast bowler snatched victory for his team from the jaws of defeat and won another Man of the Match award.

Pakistan were chasing 120 runs and were comfortably placed at 80/3. Mohammad Rizwan looked settled at the crease but the way Jasprit Bumrah bowled in the final over was sensational as he gave India the impetus and ended the game with three wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah maintained his good form throughout the tournament, and even in the final, he looked like a top-class player. He won the Player of the Tournament award for his 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and helped his team end the title drought and win the first ICC title after 2013.

Ravi Shastri’s favourite moment from the 2024 T20 World Cup was that of Jasprit Bumrah against Pakistan and in the final against South Africa. He highlighted how the fast bowler swung the game in his team’s favour in both matches. Speaking to ICC, he explained:

“I think India-Pakistan, because India had to fight there and figured out what the right combination was to go through the tournament. That and then of course the final, those last five overs. [from the T20 World Cup final]I would say one was Jasprit. [Bumrah] “Mohammad Rizwan’s arrival was very crucial, because it could have turned the tide of the match. And it happened on the first ball of a new spell,”

“He came back to attack and then managed to reverse it and sneak through the bat and the guard. [of Marco Jansen]I thought that was a very, very important wicket at that time. Hardik [Pandya] He had done the most damage by taking Klaasen. [in the previous over] But I thought, in the course of the match, that over and that wicket were extremely important.”

Jasprit Bumrah’s sensational performance with the ball prompted Ravi Shastri to compare the Indian bowlers to the greats of the game Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He praised the bowler and explained:

“He just showed the world what it takes, and you know, it’s not often in your career that you have a ball in your hand and say, do this, and the ball does that. Very few have done that, Wasim thought. [Akram] and Waqar [Younis] “They had it at their best when they were playing white-ball cricket. Shane Warne had it, he could literally call the ball, go there, bowl there, hit leg stump. People who are at the top of the game have that ability. I think Bumrah had it in this World Cup.”

Ravi Shastri rates Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in final as the catch of the tournament

When asked to name the catch of the tournament, Ravi Shastri picked Suryakumar Yadav’s catch that removed David Miller in the final over. He stressed that it was a game-changer as the batsman could have won the game. He added:

“I think that was a game changer because you know what David said… [Miller] can do it. Another big fish [from Miller]”And then, you know, the game is on the line. So I thought the timing couldn’t have been better.”

When asked about the biggest surprise of the tournament, Ravi Shastri picked Rishabh Pant’s return to international cricket after his horrific accident in December 2022. He pointed out how the wicketkeeper-batsman showed great skills as a wicketkeeper. He added:

“He did his job well with the bat, but what surprised everyone was the way he kept it. That someone could recover so quickly and then move like him. He hardly missed anything, although he must have felt the pressure as the tournament progressed because it’s not easy to come back and do everything he did,” he concluded.