On Saturday (June 29), India, led by Rohit Sharma, defeated South Africa to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue beat the Proteas by 7 runs to win their second T20 World Cup and first since 2007 .
India also became the third team after the West Indies and England to win the T20 World Cup twice. Batting first, India got into all sorts of trouble after losing three wickets in five overs. Keshav Maharaj put South Africa in the driver’s seat by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in the second over. Kagiso Rabada then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav in the fifth over to reduce India to 34 for 3.
Virat Kohli and Axar Patel then bailed India out of trouble with a crucial 72-run stand. The former India captain, who had managed to score just 75 runs in 7 games before the final, returned to form just when the team needed his services the most. He scored 76 runs with the help of 6 fours and 2 sixes to help India recover from a shaky start to post a competitive total of 176 for 7.
In response, South Africa started on a shaky note and lost 2 wickets in just 12 runs. However, the Proteas soon recovered and were favorites to win the match after Heinrich Klaasen’s fifty minutes. They were 151 for 4 after 16 overs and only needed 25 runs off the last 24 balls with the likes of Klaasen and David Miller in the middle.
However, India’s bowlers put up a remarkable effort in the last four overs to seal the game for India. South Africa finally ended their innings at 169 for 8 after Hardik Pandya defended 15 runs in the final over.
Rohit Sharma kisses Hardik Pandya:
Emotions were running high after India sealed the memorable victory. The players, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, cried after the match. And during the celebrations, captain Rohit Sharma was also seen kissing Hardik Pandya while the latter was being interviewed. Rohit kissed Pandya on the cheek before both the teams hugged each other.
Watch the touching moment between Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya:
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) June 29, 2024
Meanwhile, the latest triumph also ended India’s long wait for an ICC trophy. India had not won any ICC trophy since 2013 before winning the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
The win also made Rohit Sharma the second Indian captain after MS Dhoni to win the T20 World Cup. Rohit was also part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and is now the only Indian player to have won the tournament twice.
