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In the final at Bridgetown, India defeated South Africa in a thrilling finish to win by seven runs and lifted the World Cup after an unbeaten run in eight matches.
After Virat Kohli (76 off 59 balls) and Axar Patel (47 off 31 balls) played key roles with the bat to help India post 176 for 7 on the board, South Africa drove themselves within touching distance in chase, requirnig a run a ball in the last five overs, thanks to Heinrich Klaasen’s blistering half-century.
But Hardik Pandya returned for an inspiring second spell to turn the tables on the Proteas by dismissing the dangerous Klaasen (52 off 27) and David Miller (21 off 17), both of who were threatening to take the game away from India.
Suryakumar Yadav had a major role to play in Miller’s wicket, as he took an unbelievable catch at the edge of the boundary to turn the game in India’s favour.
Hardik (3 for 20) then dismissed Kagiso Rabada for his third wicket, which signalled India’s victory. In between Hardik’s heroics, ‘Player of the Tournament’ Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 18) and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (2 fo 20) kept the pressure on the South Africans in the dying stages of the run-chase.
Soon after India’s win, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced retirement from T20 internationals. Upon arrival home, the team received a memorable welcome in Mumbai where people came out on the streets in lakhs during the champions’ victory parade aboard an open-top bus, which concluded with a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium.
One month since that day, the joy for the Indian fans is far from settled as some of the posts on X (formerly Twitter) suggest. Take a look.
The win ended India’s 11-year wait for another International Cricket Council (ICC) title, since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Also, it took India 17 years to win another T20 World Cup, after MS Dhoni’s team did it first in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2007.
The historic win also marked the end of Rahul Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach, with his former teammate Gautam Gambhir named as replacement a few days later.
