India won the T20 World Cup title on Saturday by defeating South Africa, with captain Rohit Sharma and team talisman Virat Kohli announcing their retirement from T20Is. The match also marked the final time coach Rahul Dravid was at the helm of the Indian cricket team.
India averaged 25.55 with the bat and 15.87 with the ball. The difference of 9.67 between their batting and bowling averages ranked only third best among the 20 teams that played in this World Cup. India’s batters scored runs at a strike rate of 133.14, which was only the fifth best. There were teams that were more economical than India with the ball. Their economy of 6.65 ranked only 9th in this World Cup.
South Africa had the World Cup in the bag. But like they have done on so many occasions, they gifted away the trophy to the opponent with some mindless cricket in Barbados on Saturday as India went on to win their first World Cup in 13 years.
Chasing a target of 177, South Africa needed 54 off 36 balls. Then Heinrich Klaasen smashed Axar Patel for two fours and two sixes as the 15th over produced 24 runs bringing down the equation to 30 from 30 balls.
Klassen had made the fastest half-century in T-20 World Cup finals getting there in 23 balls.
Run a ball, South Africa should have cruised to the target to claim their first World Cup victory. But South Africa did South Africa things. They choked. India went on to win the title by seven runs. Their first World Cup win since beating Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup in Bombay.
India knew things were getting out of their hands. Rishabh Pant wanted medical assistance but it may have been a ploy to take the momentum away from South Africa. Klassen was in beat mode at that stage.
Immediately after that Klassen departed nicking one chasing a wide delivery from Hardik Pandya. He made 52 in 27 balls with five sixes and two fours.
With David Millier out in in the middle, this was still South Africa’s game. But Rohit Sharma used his resources spectacularly well. The Indian captain usually keeps Jasprit Bumrah to bowl the death overs. But with the game slipping away from him, he brought on Bumrah for the 16th over and he conceded just four runs keeping India in the game. The 18th over bowled by Bumrah went for just two runs and accounted for Marco Jansen. But still, South Africa were going to cruise in the final many thought.
South Africa now needed 20 in the last two overs.
Arshdeep Singh bowled a superb penultimate over and gave away just four runs and South Africa now needed 16 off the last over.
Suryakumar Yadav then pulled off a stunning catch in the first ball of the last over to see the back of David Miller and India went on to secure a famous come from behind win.Virat Kohli was named Man of the Match for his 76 while Jasprit Bumrah was Player of the Series for his 15 wickets in the tournament.
South Africa’s scorecard read 147 for four in 15 overs in 177-run chase as a 24-run 15th over from Axar Patel had almost sealed a famous Proteas win.
The Kensington Oval, filled with a Sea of Blue, had gone almost silent as all of a sudden now it was South Africa’s game to lose.
But hell broke loose for the Protezase after that as India made a comeback of the ages from the 16th over onwards.
Carrying on the tag of ‘chokers’ for over two decades now, South Africa did the unimaginable and so did India as the game turned on its head.
Not budging down despite immense pressure, a calculated Rohit Sharma threw in his trump card, bringing in Jasprit Bumrah for his third over.
The pacer, who had conceded just 12 in his opening two-over spell and was India’s best bet, came in and bowled a heart-stopping 16th over. Giving away just 4 runs in it, Bumrah kept India’s hopes alive and that’s where South Africa’s choking in the chase began.
Although the win predictor still showed 92% Proteas win and India’s chances at only 8% after 16 overs, the reality on the ground looked different.
The equation was now 26 off 24 as Hardik Pandya came back into the attack to bowl the 17th over.
Dismissing a fifty-up Heinrich Klaasen on the first ball of the over, Hardik broke the backbone of the Proteas chase.
As a potentially match winning knock from Klaasen ended via a caught behind dismissal, India were now right back in the contest.
In the 17th over, Hardik gave just 4 runs apart from the Klaasen wicket as South Africa now needed 22 off 18.
For Rohit now, it was a tough choice, whether to give Bumrah the 18th or the 19th over and the skipper went with the former.
After a couple of dot balls and a single, Bumrah knocked over Marco Jansen (2) on the fourth ball as David Miller, at the non-striker’s end helplessly watched the Proteas implosion.
With just two runs and a wicket coming in the 18th Bumrah over, the pressure was now all on South Africa.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh then came in and delivered an incredible penultimate over, giving away just 4 runs to David Miller (21*) and Keshav Maharaj (2*).
The four exceptional overs after the 16th had now given Hardik 16 to defend in the final over.
On the first ball of the final Hardik over, Surykumar Yadav, at long-off pulled off the catch for the ages to get rid of Miller for 21 as India delivered the knockout punch to the Proteas.
With Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada now in the middle and 16 to defend off 5 balls, Hardik finished off the job with perfection as India sealed a famous seven-run win.
