India break 13-year trophy drought in thrilling final
Monday 1 July 2024
ICC T20 World Cup Final 2024
India Vs South Africa
Kensington Oval, 493G+XXX, President Kennedy Dr, Bridgetown, Saint Michael BB, 120004 Barbados
India break 13-year trophy drought in thrilling final
Match Preview:
It all comes down to this. One final, after 4 weeks of entertainment and fun in the USA and the Caribbean Islands. India and South Africa lock horns in Barbados after they both progressed from the semi-finals following victories over England and Afghanistan on Thursday. India will look to end their 13-year international trophy drought as they look to put behind their heartbreaking loss to Australia in the 50-over WC in Ahmedabad on November 19 2023. Whereas South Africa, they are looking for their first ever ICC trophy, having come close at India during the 50-over cricket world cup, but they lost to the eventual winners, Australia. But with no Australia and England coming in their way, who will win today? Can India add their second T20 WC to their cabinet, or will South Africa upset the odds and claim their first major title?
Toss & Team News: India won the toss and chose to bat
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh & Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram (C), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Rohit Sharma: One of the in-form players for India, having carried the bulk load of the runs by himself, the 37-year-old is looking to cement himself as a legend, after he almost led India to their 3rd ODI world cup, as he announced that he will be retiring from T20s after this game. Will he contribute to India's victory today?
Virat Kohli: A lot of talks were about the 35-year-old throughout this tournament. He hasn't been firing runs at the top of the order, but on his final T20 appearance, can he be the man to fire India to victory?
Heinrich Klassen: What an incredible season the 32-year-old is having. An IPL finalist with Sunrisers Hyderabad in May, he has a huge chance to lead his country to T20 glory, is he the man to do it for South Africa?
Anrich Nortje: This man has had an impressive world cup this year, bagging a lot of wickets for the Proteas, can he extend his tally today by getting more wickets?
INDIA BATTING INNINGS:
The wait is over, as Marco Jansen starts us off by bowling the first over to Rohit Sharma, the skipper, as the Mumbai Indians opener, gets off the mark with a single. As Kohli takes strike, he strikes his first ball to the boundary for 4, and he continues his merry way, by hitting another 10 runs to add to the boundary he struck. Great start for India after 1 over, 15/0. An interesting change in the bowling by Aiden Markram, as he throws in Keshav Maharaj already in the second over. Will this move give South Africa a breakthrough? It's 2 boundaries for Rohit Sharma, who moves to 9 runs, with 23 runs on the board after 2 deliveries. Maharaj finally got his revenge as he got the Indian skipper caught out by Heinrich Klaasen at square leg.
Maharaj and Markram celebrate the wicket of Rohit Sharma.
Just 2 deliveries in, Rishabh Pant fell for Maharaj, as he was caught behind by de Kock. Little wobble, but India still looking strong with their aggressive approach, as they are 23/2 after 2 overs. And South Africa squeezed the run rate of India's batting. From 11.5 RPO to 8 RPO within the space of 2 overs, as India only hit 10 runs from 12 deliveries, with Rabada and Maharaj bowling very well. Rabada's bowling was rewarded with a wicket as Suryakumar Yadav holed out to Heinrich Klaasen at fine leg, to leave India struggling. Once again, Axar Patel gets another promotion up the order with the bat, to ensure India are avoiding further collapse. Powerplay is wrapped up with India finishing on 45/3 after 6 overs. From then on, it was a partnership built between Axar Patel and Virat Kohli as the duo continued to steady the ship, with a crucial 50-run partnership between the two of them. South Africa were struggling to get wickets, as Kohli and Axar remained solid at the crease, but Klaasen's brilliant run out got Axar Patel, as he walked back for a well-made 47. Shivam Dube, the new addition to the Indian team for this tournament, struck a couple of boundaries to add more to the runs. Virat Kohli brought up his first 50 of this tournament off 48 deliveries. It was a struggle, but well-played and composed, by the 35-year-old. The batters continued to get runs, until Marco Jansen broke the stand, by getting rid of Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for 76 off 59 deliveries. Is this going to give them a winning chance for India?
Kohli watches after he hits a boundary
Nortje managed to hold off any threats India posed with the bat by conceding 9 runs off the final over & 2 wickets, including two CSK left-handers in Shivam Dube & Jadeja. That is that for the India innings. A great start with the bat, along with a couple of wobbles out in the middle with the aggressive intent being shown in the early overs, but they managed to find their way to hit 176/7 after 20 overs, which is the highest T20 score in an ICC T20 WC final. It's all down to South Africa, who can make history by chasing 177.
INDIA INNINGS SUMMARY:
INDIA 176-7 (20 OVERS) RR: 8.8 (T) | SOUTH AFRICA BOWLING |
Virat Kohli: 76 (59) | Anrich Nortje: 2-26 (4) |
Axar Patel: 47 (31) | Keshav Maharaj: 2-23 (3) |
Shivam Dube: 27 (16) | Kagiso Rabada: 1-36 (4) |
Target for South Africa is 177 from 20 overs at a rate of 8.85 an over.
INNINGS SUMMARY: SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa know that they have to get off to the perfect start, if they want to have any chance of winning this game. But their start was rocked, as Reeza Hendricks fell to a Jasprit Bumrah outswinger as he was clean bowled to start.
Bumrah gets the first wicket for India as he cleans up Reeza Hendricks.
And Arshdeep Singh got the South African skipper, Aiden Markram caught behind to Rishabh Pant, as they were 14/2 after 3 overs with Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs out in the middle. They put up a reasonable fight to the Indian bowlers as they took 20 runs off Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom are teammates at Delhi Captials with Tristan Stubbs. They ended the powerplay at 42/3 after 6 overs. From then on, it was patience and boundaries for both Stubbs and de Kock, as South Africa reached 62/2 after 8 overs, until Axar Patel broke the stand, by cleaning up Stubbs with a turning delivery which spun onto the top of off stump, which broke the stand. Klaasen came out next and he took his time getting settled into the game. Klaasen continued to take the charge to the bowlers, like Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Until Rohit Sharma summoned Arshdeep Singh to dismiss Quinton de Kock, as he holed out to Kuldeep Yadav. The equation for South Africa is now 54 from 36 deliveries. They are 123/4 after 14 overs with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller at the crease. Until this over went for a huge 24 runs. Ball by ball detail:
Ball 1: Axar Patel to Klaasen: 4! Lovely shot down the ground, nothing wrong with the ball bowled, but it was a very good shot from Klaasen. It was turning into the stumps and Klaasen positioned himself very well for that shot.
Ball 2: Axar Patel to Klaasen: WIDE BALL. He needs to rebowl that, trying to catch Klaasen's outside edge, but just past the tramline.
Ball 3: Axar Patel to Klaasen: WIDE BALL. Again, trying to catch Klaasen's outside edge, but just past the tramline yet again!
Ball 4: Axar Patel to Klaasen: DOT BALL. Good bowling from Axar. Tightening the line giving the batter no time to make the shot.
Ball 5: Axar Patel to Klaasen: 6! HUUUGE!! ONTO THE ROOF THAT TIME! KLAASEN IS GOING BEAST MODE TODAY! 12 RUNS ALREADY! GETS INTO THE SLOG SWEEP AND HITS THE SOLAR PANEL!
Ball 6: Axar Patel to Klaasen: 6! ANOTHER ONE!!! ANOTHER 6 INTO THE CROWD!! THE EQUATION IS NOW DOWN TO 36 OFF 32 DELIVERIES! WHAT INCREDIBLE BATTING FROM THE 32-YEAR-OLD! GETS ON THE BACK FOOT AND PUMPS HIM INTO THE STANDS!
Ball 7: Axar Patel to Klaasen: 4! EXQUISITE SHOT DISPLAYING FROM HEINRICH KLAASEN! IF SOUTH AFRICA IS TO WIN THIS MATCH, HE IS THE MAIN REASON!! UP AND OVER THE OFF-SIDE, ONE BOUNCE INTO THE FENCE, THE EQUATION IS NOW 32 FROM 31 DELIVERIES!
Ball 8: Axar Patel to Klaasen: 2. GOOD RUNNING BETWEEN THE WICKETS BY THESE TWO EXPERIENCED CAMPAIGNERS. SIMPLY OUTSTANDING BATTING, THE EQUATION NOW IS AT 30 RUNS FROM 30 DELIVERIES!!
The pressure is now on India. They have controlled this game very well with tight bowling, but with Axar Patel finishing his spell off with 1-49 of his 4 overs, things are heating up here in Barbados! Who does Rohit Sharma turn to to try and swing the momentum back in India's favour? 2 overs of Bumrah, 1 over of Arshdeep Singh, 3 overs of Hardik Pandya remain. It's Bumrah who comes back to bowl. The final 5 overs, seem very favourable for South Africa. They just need to stay calm and find the gap. It is also Heinrich Klaasen's first 50 at this tournament and what a time to hit it! A great over from Jasprit Bumrah, as he concedes only 4 runs. Now it's 26 off 24 to get for the chasing side. As Hardik comes in to bowl the 17th over. AND HE GETS HEINRICH KLAASEN CAUGHT BEHIND!! ABSOLUTE SCENES HERE AT BARBADOS! INDIA STILL BELIEVE! IT'S NOT OVER YET FOR ROHIT'S MEN IN BLUE! ON HIS 50TH T20 appearance, HARDIK STRIKES A CRUCIAL BLOW!
Milestone man Hardik Pandya gets the crucial wicket of Heinrich Klaasen.
It is still gettable the target, but the pressure India are exerting back to South Africa, is making it even tougher for the Proteas. Bumrah arrives for his final over, leaving Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya to complete the remaining 2 overs. As the over is complete, the ever-so impressive Jasprit Bumrah ends his spell with 2-18 of his 4 overs, an over that went for only 4 runs again, with a wicket falling, and it's Marco Jansen who was clean bowled by the Mumbai Indians pacer. The equation is now, 20 from 12 deliveries. The pressure was on David Miller, as he is the man that everyone describes as the finisher, with Arshdeep Singh coming in to bowl his final over. And what a good over it was, just 4 runs conceded of his over leaving Hardik Pandya to defend 16 off the last over.
Ball by ball detail of how the last over went:
BALL 1: Hardik to David Miller: WICKET!! FULL-TOSS OUTSIDE OFF STUMP AND MILLER GOES HIGH! WHO WANTS IT?! HAS IT GONE ALL THE WAY, NO HE HAS NOT!!! OH MY GOODNESS ME!! WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVEABLE CATCH IN THE DEEP?!! I THINK THAT IS SURYAKUMAR YADAV OUT THERE!! WHAT BRILLAINT PIECE OF MIND TO PULL OFF AN INCREDIBLE CATCH UNDER PRESSURE! AND JUST LOOK AT THE JOY OF THE INDIAN FANS!!
BALL 2: Hardik to Rabada: 4! Sliced away and it goes for 4!! Lucky edge and now it's 12 from 4.
BALL 3: Hardik to Rabada: 1 bye run. They will sneak a run and get Maharaj on strike.
BALL 4: Hardik to Maharaj: 1 leg-bye run. Once again, can't connect as he gets only a single.
BALL 5: Hardik to Rabada: WIDE BALL. Too much down the off-side and he has to re-bowl again!
BALL 6: Hardik to Rabada: WICKET! IN THE AIR AND STRAIGHT DOWN THE THROAT OF SURYAKUMAR YADAV! THE TITLE IS WELL AND TRULY SEALED
BALL 7: Hardik to Nortje: 1! IT'S ALL OVER!! INDIA LIFT THE ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2024 IN BARBADOS!! HARDIK PANDYA COMPLETES HIS REDEMPTION STORY!! INDIA HAVE BROKEN THE TROPHY DRAUGHT, IT IS THE 2ND T20 WORLD CUP AND THEIR 5TH ICC TROPHY ACHIEVED!!
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Virat Kohli
The definition of a big game player! What an incredible athlete, he struggled throughout the tournament, but as all the Indian fans saw, "SAVE THE BEST TILL THE LAST!" 76 off 59 balls is a match-winning knock, as he emulated his previous best score in the 2014 final loss to Sri Lanka in Dhaka.
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