Bridgetown, India's agonizing 11-year wait for a world title came to an end thanks to the ingenuity of Virat Kohli and the inspiring captaincy of Rohit Sharma, as the star-studded team edged South Africa's perennial bridesmaids by seven runs in a see-saw final to lift their second T20 World Cup Trophy here on Saturday.
Kohli, who was part of the 2011 ODI World Cup triumph, announced his retirement from the format after being named player of the match for his 76-run knock. He had an indifferent expression on his face after the victory, but he finally collapsed.
"It's time for the next generation to take over. It was an open secret and I would have announced it even if we had lost," said Kohli. Hardik Pandya, booed during the IPL after being handed the Mumbai Indians captaincy, he collapsed after enduring six difficult months and the lasting image would undoubtedly be the kiss planted on his cheeks by the man people supported: Rohit Sharma.
Captain Sharma, with his eyes shining, was squatting because he was emotionally exhausted. His wife Ritika, watching from the stands, also crying. To be fair, there wasn't a single soul in the stadium who didn't feel choked by emotions.
"It's very difficult to summarize what we've been through for the last 3-4 years... a lot has happened behind the scenes. It's not today, it's what we've been doing for the last three-four years." Rohit said.When Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) went hammer and tongs against the in-form Indian spinners, it looked like Rohit Sharma and his men would have to settle for second place in another World Cup final, but they managed to get back to the game. with a lot of help from South Africa.
Finally, Hardik Pandya, much maligned by his own fans over the past six months, was able to defend 16 runs in the final to secure India's first ICC trophy since 2013 and a first T20 World Cup crown in the post-IPL era. . Replying to India's 176 for seven, South Africa finished with 169 for eight.
The sense of relief and elation was evident in the Indian team's stars, Kohli and Rohit, who may not stay for another T20 World Cup cycle. The result was also a fitting farewell for coach Rahul Dravid. It was the joint effort of Kohli (76 off 59) and Axar Patel (47 off 31) that enabled India to set the highest total in a T20 World Cup final. In the high-pressure run chase, the pacers of India provided two early wickets before a 58-run stand between opener Quinton de Kock (39 off 31) and Tristian Stubbs (52 off 27) put the Proteas back in the game. However, it was Klaasen's stunning knock that almost caught India by surprise.
Needing a wicket, Rohit Sharma did not turn to his main pacer Jasprit Bumrah and opted for Axar Patel in the 15th over, in which Klaasen hit a couple of sixes and as many fours to take the game away from the opposition single-handedly. nobody.
The asking price suddenly dropped to run a ball and South Africa became the game to lose. South Africa, not known for staying calm in pressure situations, made life difficult for themselves and needed 20 runs in the last 12 balls with David Miller and Keshav Maharaj in the middle.
Bumrah, who had bowled a beauty to dislodge Reeza Hendricks in the powerplay, made an impact when he finally returned for the remaining two overs, picking up one wicket and conceding just six runs in his last 12 balls.
The equation came down to 16 in the last six balls and in the first over, Suryakumar Yadav took a sensational relief catch at the far boundary off Hardik to put India on the cusp of a thrilling victory.Earlier, India did well to record the total highest in a T20 World Cup final after scoring 34 for three. Axar was unfortunately dismissed, completely against the run of play, ending his partnership of 72 runs off 54 balls with Kohli. Kohli slowed down considerably in the middle overs to score his first 50 of the tournament off 48 balls.
Rohit Sharma (9) did not hesitate to bat first at Kensington Oval, where the pitch has not been the easiest to bat on throughout the competition. The Indian captain, who was coming off two consecutive match-winning efforts, departed early after hitting a pair of consecutive fours off Keshav Maharaj in the second over of the game.
Maharaj responded well by trapping Rohit at square leg as the batsman went to sweep. Rohit and incoming batsman Rishabh Pant fell to the sweep shot. Tension in the Indian camp increased when Suryakumar, who had also been in good touch like Rohit, was caught at fine leg after not getting enough of his lifted shot against Rabada, leaving India three down in the power play. At 45 for three in six overs, it was the slowest power play for India in the Caribbean leg.
Seeing wickets fall at the other end, Kohli, who hit three stylish boundaries off Marco Jansen in the opener of the final, changed gears during the middle overs and let Axar find the odd boundary.
Such was the nature of Kohli's knock that his first big knock after the powerplay, six in a row against Rabada, came in the 18th over. Axar, on the other hand, potentially played the innings of his T20 career and negotiated the South African spinners effectively, getting six each from Aiden Markram, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Kohli dropped anchor to smash a couple of sixes in the last five overs of which India amassed 58 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Kohli, who was part of the 2011 ODI World Cup triumph, announced his retirement from the format after being named player of the match for his 76-run knock. He had an indifferent expression on his face after the victory, but he finally collapsed.
"It's time for the next generation to take over. It was an open secret and I would have announced it even if we had lost," said Kohli. Hardik Pandya, booed during the IPL after being handed the Mumbai Indians captaincy, he collapsed after enduring six difficult months and the lasting image would undoubtedly be the kiss planted on his cheeks by the man people supported: Rohit Sharma.
Captain Sharma, with his eyes shining, was squatting because he was emotionally exhausted. His wife Ritika, watching from the stands, also crying. To be fair, there wasn't a single soul in the stadium who didn't feel choked by emotions.
"It's very difficult to summarize what we've been through for the last 3-4 years... a lot has happened behind the scenes. It's not today, it's what we've been doing for the last three-four years." Rohit said.When Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) went hammer and tongs against the in-form Indian spinners, it looked like Rohit Sharma and his men would have to settle for second place in another World Cup final, but they managed to get back to the game. with a lot of help from South Africa.
Finally, Hardik Pandya, much maligned by his own fans over the past six months, was able to defend 16 runs in the final to secure India's first ICC trophy since 2013 and a first T20 World Cup crown in the post-IPL era. . Replying to India's 176 for seven, South Africa finished with 169 for eight.
The sense of relief and elation was evident in the Indian team's stars, Kohli and Rohit, who may not stay for another T20 World Cup cycle. The result was also a fitting farewell for coach Rahul Dravid. It was the joint effort of Kohli (76 off 59) and Axar Patel (47 off 31) that enabled India to set the highest total in a T20 World Cup final. In the high-pressure run chase, the pacers of India provided two early wickets before a 58-run stand between opener Quinton de Kock (39 off 31) and Tristian Stubbs (52 off 27) put the Proteas back in the game. However, it was Klaasen's stunning knock that almost caught India by surprise.
Needing a wicket, Rohit Sharma did not turn to his main pacer Jasprit Bumrah and opted for Axar Patel in the 15th over, in which Klaasen hit a couple of sixes and as many fours to take the game away from the opposition single-handedly. nobody.
The asking price suddenly dropped to run a ball and South Africa became the game to lose. South Africa, not known for staying calm in pressure situations, made life difficult for themselves and needed 20 runs in the last 12 balls with David Miller and Keshav Maharaj in the middle.
Bumrah, who had bowled a beauty to dislodge Reeza Hendricks in the powerplay, made an impact when he finally returned for the remaining two overs, picking up one wicket and conceding just six runs in his last 12 balls.
The equation came down to 16 in the last six balls and in the first over, Suryakumar Yadav took a sensational relief catch at the far boundary off Hardik to put India on the cusp of a thrilling victory.Earlier, India did well to record the total highest in a T20 World Cup final after scoring 34 for three. Axar was unfortunately dismissed, completely against the run of play, ending his partnership of 72 runs off 54 balls with Kohli. Kohli slowed down considerably in the middle overs to score his first 50 of the tournament off 48 balls.
Rohit Sharma (9) did not hesitate to bat first at Kensington Oval, where the pitch has not been the easiest to bat on throughout the competition. The Indian captain, who was coming off two consecutive match-winning efforts, departed early after hitting a pair of consecutive fours off Keshav Maharaj in the second over of the game.
Maharaj responded well by trapping Rohit at square leg as the batsman went to sweep. Rohit and incoming batsman Rishabh Pant fell to the sweep shot. Tension in the Indian camp increased when Suryakumar, who had also been in good touch like Rohit, was caught at fine leg after not getting enough of his lifted shot against Rabada, leaving India three down in the power play. At 45 for three in six overs, it was the slowest power play for India in the Caribbean leg.
Seeing wickets fall at the other end, Kohli, who hit three stylish boundaries off Marco Jansen in the opener of the final, changed gears during the middle overs and let Axar find the odd boundary.
Such was the nature of Kohli's knock that his first big knock after the powerplay, six in a row against Rabada, came in the 18th over. Axar, on the other hand, potentially played the innings of his T20 career and negotiated the South African spinners effectively, getting six each from Aiden Markram, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Kohli dropped anchor to smash a couple of sixes in the last five overs of which India amassed 58 runs for the loss of three wickets.
