The Indian national cricket team are the champions of the 2024 T20 World Cup after defeating South Africa in the final of the tournament on Saturday (June 29). The Rohit Sharma-led team defeated the Proteas by 7 runs at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
India were exceptional with bat and ball throughout the tournament, but when it mattered most, they showed their best and ensured that their title drought was ended. They came out on top after a loss and claimed their second T20 World Cup title.
India opted to bat first and it was an amazing outing with the bat. Virat Kohli was the shining light with the bat. Even though the team lost wickets early on, the senior batsman stood firm for his team and made sure that he batted deep and took his team to the winning total.
Virat Kohli, who was going through a rough patch in the T20 World Cup 2024, made sure to take a big step forward for his team. He finished with an innings of 76 runs, while Axar Patel (47) and Shivam Dube (27) supported him well, as India posted a total of 176 runs on the board.
With the ball, India kept adding wickets at regular intervals but Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) got their team back into the game. After that, it was Heinrich Klaasen (52), who gave the Rohit Sharma-led team a real scare by attacking the bowlers and bowling them all over the pitch.
The way he was batting, it looked like India would lose the game but Hardik Pandya removed him and then the momentum swung in the team’s favour. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh bowled tremendously well and the responsibility for the final over was left in Pandya’s hands.
The all-rounder had to defend 16 runs in the last over and started quite well, removing David Miller on the first ball. However, after that, the drama did not stop there as Kagiso Rabada hit a four and the equation came down to 9 runs off 2 balls.
Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya in tears as India win T20 World Cup 2024
Hardik Pandya then removed Kagiso Rabada on the fifth ball and the celebrations began. Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on the field screamed with joy knowing that they had the T20 World Cup in their bag.
Not only Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but also head coach Rahul Dravid, who was in the dressing room, showed his emotions and stood up and celebrated wildly. Here are the videos:
pic.twitter.com/dKeZ1i4hNu
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) June 29, 2024
Finally Rahul Dravid shows emotion at last! ❤️❤️pic.twitter.com/LHnwrofLLK
— Shilpa (@shilpa_cn) June 29, 2024
After the last ball, all the Indian players, including captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and others, were depressed and crying. This was after 11 years of India lifting the ICC title, having last won the Champions Trophy in 2013.