India Clinches T20I World Cup 2024 as they defeated South Africa in a nail biting match. After choosing to bowl first, the Proteas made a strong start by taking three wickets during the Powerplay, which included the dismissals of skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav.
However, India staged a recovery with Virat Kohli and Axar Patel putting up a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket – the highest by an Indian pair in a final.
After Axar Patel was dismissed for a quickfire 47, Virat Kohli scored a half-century off 48 balls, making it the second slowest by an Indian player. He finished on 76 runs. However, India managed to put up a competitive total of 176/7 in the first innings, which is the highest score in a final across nine editions.
South Africa’s pursuit faltered after losing the fourth wicket at 106. However, Heinrich Klaasen, batting at number five, scored a half-century off 23 balls, the fastest in any final, propelling the team towards the target.
In the 17th over, Hardik Pandya took a crucial wicket by dismissing Klaasen for 53 runs and only conceding four runs. Jasprit Bumrah then followed up with an impressive over, taking the wicket of Marco Jansen and conceding only two runs, leaving South Africa with a 20-run deficit. Arshdeep Singh also bowled an excellent over, only conceding four runs, and leaving South Africa with 16 runs to get in the final over.
In a crucial moment, Pandya made a decisive impact with the first delivery of the over. He dismissed David Miller, thanks to an incredible catch by Suryakumar Yadav at the long-off boundary. Although Kagiso Rabada managed a four and a single off the next three deliveries, Hardik kept his nerve and took the crucial wicket of the left-hander off the penultimate delivery, securing India’s historic win in Bridgetown.
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This is India’s first championship title since their ICC Champions Trophy victory in 2013 and their second T20 World Cup trophy after narrowly defeating Pakistan by five runs in the inaugural final in Johannesburg in 2007.
India’s captain, Rohit, made history by becoming the first captain to win 50 men’s T20Is. He led the team in his second T20 World Cup. Previously, Rohit had also captained India in the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final in 2023, finishing as the runner-up to Australia on both occasions.
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