India Wins Cricket World Cup beats South Africa by 7 runs

India’s men’s cricket team ended their 13-year drought in the international cricket arena on Saturday by defeating South Africa in a thrilling final match of the Twenty20 World Cup.

India and South Africa remained unbeaten before of their encounter in Barbados on Saturday. South Africa seemed to be in the lead in the match, but India stopped them from scoring more than India’s 176 runs.

India had won the first T20 World Cup in 2007, hence this was their second World Cup victory overall. In addition, it was India’s first World Cup victory in 13 years in any form of cricket, following a year filled with heartbreaking close championship matches.

When it counted, Kohli delivered a clutch blow with the bat. It was a beautiful, sweet redemption. Although his 76 off 59 balls may not have raised eyebrows, it was a huge boost to the team’s case.

Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were two more superstars that India discovered. After a stingy eighteen overs, Bumrah put further pressure on South Africa. In those six deliveries, Bumrah took a wicket and gave up two runs, putting the Proteas in a difficult situation.

When Suryakumar Yadav dismissed David Miller in the final over with a superb catch, it was the final nail in the coffin. At far off, Suryakumar’s juggling attempt forced the final recognised batter to return. South Africa was completely defeated.

India’s encounter was particularly poignant as many of its veteran players, including 37-year-old Sharma, were nearing the conclusion of their careers. It was a fiercely contested game. When Sharma was just starting out, in 2007, India won the World Cup in the shortest format of cricket, the Twenty20. One of cricket’s most recognisable idols, 35-year-old Virat Kohli, has also missed out on the top award. Over the course of his lengthy and remarkable playing career, India’s coach Rahul Dravid has never won a World Cup.

India, who chose to bat on a dry surface, recovered from a top-order collapse to score a respectable 176/7. Axar Patel hammered 47 and Virat Kohli (76) hit his maiden fifty of the World Cup to lead India to a respectable total. India lost Rohit, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar during the Powerplay, but they were able to regain control of the game with their 72-run stand for the fourth wicket.

For 35 balls, Kohli was unable to score a boundary due to his significant slowdown. In the eighteenth over, he eventually broke free with a stunning swing over long on off Kagiso Rabada. That was the first boundary he has hit since the match’s fourth over. He was holed in the long-on barrier after hitting two fours and another six. For South Africa, Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj each grabbed two wickets.

After a top-order collapse of their own, the Proteas were able to regain momentum because to Quinton de Kock (39), Tristan Stubbs (31), and others. After that, Klaasen (52) launched a stunning counterattack, but India’s superb death-overs bowling held South Africa to 169/8.

When South Africa batted, they appeared formidable; Heinrich Klaasen helped them score 147 runs in 15 overs. However, the side began to struggle after he was out. Before Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah threw a ball that ended in an out, Marco Jansen had only scored two runs.

David Miller gave the South African side 21 runs in 17 balls, but in the last over of the competition, India’s Suryakumar Yadav made an incredible catch to remove Miller from the game. As a result, the team’s remaining batsmen were unable to achieve the necessary runs to win. The South African squad ultimately trailed by just seven runs.

South Africa has never participated in an international cricket competition final before.

• Individual Feats of 2024 Cup:
  • India’s Virat Kohli is the leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup history with 1292 runs in 35 matches, since his debut in 2012.
  • Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the top wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup, recording 50 scalps in 43 matches between 2007 and 2024.
• Key Highlights of the 2024 T20 Final:
  • Player of the Match: Virat Kohli
  • Player of the Tournament: Jasprit Bumrah
  • Most wickets in a T20 WC Edition:
    • 17 – Arshdeep Singh (IND, 2024)
    • 17 – Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG, 2024)
  • Lowest Economy Rate in a T20 WC Edition:
    • 4.17 – Jasprit Bumrah (2024)

Rohit Sharma:“Hard to sum up what we’ve been through in last three-four years. A lot behind the scenes, not what we did today, it’s what we did before. A lot of high-pressure games, and we’ve been on the wrong side of it. Guys understand when the pressure is on what needs to be done, today was perfect example, stuck together with backs to the wall. We wanted this really bad, a lot of mind needs to come together, very proud of the bunch of boys and the management, giving us the liberty to play and that trust. Starts from management, coach, captain, and the players. No-one was in doubt about the form of Virat, on top of his game for last 15 years. Come the occasion, big players stand up. Crucial to hold that end, for the others to play around him. Team effort because it wasn’t a wicket to bat freely. He did that perfectly, that experience all the years come together, and Axar’s batting was crucial.”

Aiden Markram: “Gutted for the time being, it’ll take some time to reflect on a really good campaign, hurts quite a bit but incredibly proud. We bowled well, not a lot to work with, it was a chaseable total, batted well, came down to the wire, gutted not to get over the line. It’s not over til the last ball is over, we never got comfortable, things happen quickly at the back end, but got into a great position to prove we were worthy finalists. South Africans are competitive, respectful and will go down with a fight. It’s still a proud moment for us.”