Sunday, June 30
- Armaan Dhawan
- Jun 30, 2024
- 6 min read
Today, we have a YNH Exclusive on the ICC T20 World Cup Final! Read a synopsis of the match, the awards given out, and the next steps for the teams after this world cup.
Contents:
The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has ended after almost a month of play, and the finale was quite a nail-biter.
The finale took place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which is a relatively high-scoring pitch located in one of the host countries of this World Cup. India won the toss and elected to bat, and South Africa's captain Aiden Markram later stated that he would have done the same if they had won the toss.
India began their batting with openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli-- Rohit has been quite consistent this tournament, while Kohli has not performed as well as he usually does. However, it was Rohit who went out early in this match, with a failed sweep shot on a ball by spinner Keshav Maharaj heading straight to a fielder after he had scored just 9 runs. India's other top order batsman, Rishabh Pant, also went out early, going for a duck in the same over as Rohit.
Suryakumar Yadav then came in, but his partnership with Kohli didn't last long, either. He went out for just 3 runs after being caught out by Heinrich Klaasen following a quick ball from bowler Kagiso Rabada. India then sent out all-rounder Axar Patel to stabilize the innings, as they were struggling at 45-3. He played very well, scoring 47 runs before being run out by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock after a mistake during what he thought might be a single. One of India's biggest hitters, Shivam Dube, walked in after Axar, and he scored a solid 27 runs before getting caught out on a ball bowled by Anrich Nortje.
Kohli also got out around the same time, getting caught out on a ball from Marco Jansen, but he scored a game-changing 76 runs off 59 balls. He was the one who powered India to their final score of 176/7 after their horrible start. Dube and Axar also chipped in at the end after their slow start with multiple boundaries. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja then finished off the innings, scoring 5 and 2 runs, respectively.
When South Africa came out to bat, they knew they had a big total on their hands, as India had registered the highest-ever total by any team in a T20 World Cup Final. Opener Reeza Hendricks was clean bowled by fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on a quick inswinger, and captain Aiden Markram also went out early after a wider delivery from Arshdeep Singh that he nicked to wicketkeeper Pant. South Africa seemed to be struggling by the middle of over 3, just 12/2, which was not helping their required run rate.
However, they recovered quickly, with opener Quinton de Kock and middle order batsman Tristan Stubbs scoring a strong 58 run partnership, which took them to 70/2 before Stubbs was bowled by off spinner Axar Patel, finishing with 31 runs. Consistent hitter Heinrich Klaasen came in next, and he did even better. Klaasen and de Kock achieved a small partnership, as de Kock was caught out on a ball by Arshdeep Singh after he tried to go for a six-- he scored 39 runs. Klaasen kept going, though, scoring the fastest 50 in a World Cup Final off just 23 balls. David Miller also chipped in to contribute to the pair's 45-run partnership, but that was ended when Klaasen caught an edge from a ball bowled by Hardik Pandya, and it went straight to Pant. He finished with 52 runs off 27 balls.
South Africa then needed 26 runs off 23 balls, which is very doable for such a strong team. Marco Jansen and David Miller attempted to forge a partnership, but those efforts were quickly ended by Jasprit Bumrah when he clean bowled Jansen for just 2 runs. Arshdeep kept the penultimate over to just 4 runs, and South Africa then needed 16 runs off the last over with David Miller and Keshav Maharaj at the crease. On the first ball of the last over, bowled by Hardik Pandya, Miller almost smashed a six. However, Suryakumar, who was at the boundary, made a spectacular catch that changed the game. He caught the ball but had too much momentum and was going to go over the boundary, so he threw the ball up in the air, went over the boundary, ran back onto the field, and caught the ball again. They then needed 16 off 5, and Rabada and Maharaj tried to get there, but it came to 9 off 2 balls. Rabada tried to hit a boundary, but it went straight to a fielder, dashing their hopes of bringing home their first-ever T20 World Cup victory in their first time ever making it to the final. India ended up winning the nail-biting match by just 7 runs. The last time India won the T20 World Cup was during the first-ever tournament, all the way back in 2007.
Kohli was given the Man of the Match award for his 76 runs off 59 balls, and Bumrah was given the Player of the Tournament award for his 15 wickets at an economy rate of only 4.17. Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the tournament's highest run-scorer, with 281 runs, while India's Arshdeep Singh and Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi tied for most wickets-- 17. West Indies' Nicholas Pooran achieved the highest score of the World Cup, with 98 runs off 53 balls vs Afghanistan, while Fazalhaq Farooqi had the best figures with 5/9 against Uganda. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and India's Rohit Sharma tied for most fifties, with 3 each. Nicholas Pooran scored the most sixes, with 17, while Australia's Travis Head scored the most fours with 26. Travis Head also had the most overall boundaries, with 41.
Unfortunately, this win for India also had a slight melancholy note. This was India's last match being coached by legendary batsman Rahul Dravid, who will be leaving the team after this World Cup. Also, in his post-game interview, Virat Kohli confirmed that this was his last T20 International (T20I) match for India. At just 35 years old, he has scored 4,188 runs with a strike rate of 137 across 125 matches in 14 years, scoring one century and 38 fifties. The only person who has scored more T20I runs that Kohli is fellow teammate Rohit Sharma. To add onto these two retirements, captain Rohit Sharma also announced that he will be ending his T20I career at the end of this World Cup. At 37 years old, he has scored 4,231 runs with a strike rate of 141 across 159 matches in 17 years, scoring five centuries and 32 fifties. Both of these batsmen are the top two best batsmen in the T20I format, and it will be sad for India to see them go.
In addition, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced his retirement from T20s a day later. At 35 years old, he scored 515 runs with a strike rate of 127 across 74 matches in 15 years. As an off spinner, he took 54 wickets with an economy of 7.13 across 74 matches in 15 years, bowling a total of 226 overs. He was also known for his masterclass fielding, with amazing catching skills and superior aim that allowed him to throw numerous run outs. Kohli, Rohit, and Jadeja will continue to play on India's One-Day International (ODI) and Test match teams, though.
These retirements will make way for new batsmen to make their debuts onto the team, such as skillful opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who didn't get to to play this World Cup as he was drafted as a reserve, or massive hitter Rinku Singh, who was not selected for the Indian team. Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhishek Sharma are all other possible openers for the team, and the decision must be made quickly-- India plays Zimbabwe in a 5-match T20I series starting July 6. Another question at hand is the change of captaincy-- who will take over for Rohit Sharma? Many people believe it will be vice-captain Hardik Pandya who takes on his role, but other prospects like strategic bowler Jasprit Bumrah, calm batsman Suryakumar Yadav, or wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant are also in the mix for the captaincy in future T20Is. It has also been confirmed that India are looking to former cricketer Gautam Gambhir to become the team's new coach.
Congratulations to India fans on their first win in 17 years! Also, bravo to South Africa for escaping their 'semifinal curse' and making it to the T20 World Cup Final for the first time in the history of the tournament!
This story has been updated with the latest information on the World Cup match and retirements.
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