T20 World Cup Final: India emerged victorious against South Africa by just 7 runs to clinch their second T20 World Cup title. This historic win marks their first major ICC trophy since 2013 and their first T20 World Cup title since the inaugural edition in 2007.
Kohli Shines with Bat and Announces Retirement:
Virat Kohli, named Player of the Match for his magnificent 76 off 59 balls, stole the show. His knock helped India recover from a shaky start and post a record-breaking 176/7, the highest score in a T20 World Cup final. In a surprising turn of events, Kohli announced his retirement from T20 Internationals during the post-match presentation.
India’s Bowling Masterclass Seals the Deal:
South Africa began their chase confidently, but Jasprit Bumrah’s early dismissal of Reeza Hendricks triggered a collapse. Captain Aiden Markram followed suit, falling prey to Arshdeep Singh’s pace. Despite a valiant 58-run partnership between Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs, India kept chipping away at wickets, with Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh claiming crucial scalps.
Just when South Africa seemed on course for victory, Heinrich Klaasen’s blitzkrieg was cut short by Hardik Pandya. The final few overs turned into a tense battle, with Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh conceding a mere 6 runs in the 18th and 19th overs, squeezing the life out of the South African chase. Pandya held his nerve in the final over, restricting South Africa to 169 and sealing a dramatic victory for India.
Early Setback, Mid-Innings Consolidation:
Earlier, India stumbled initially, losing Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant to Keshav Maharaj within the powerplay. Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal to Kagiso Rabada further dented their progress. However, a crucial 72-run stand between Kohli and Axar Patel revived India’s innings. Axar fell agonizingly short of his fifty to a brilliant run-out by Quinton de Kock, but Kohli continued his dominant batting display, reaching his fifty in 48 balls. He unleashed his power against Rabada in the 18th over, ensuring a competitive total for India.
This victory marks a historic moment for Indian cricket, ending their long wait for an ICC trophy and etching Kohli’s name in the record books with a phenomenal performance and a significant announcement.
T20 World Cup Final: Full Scorecard
India (20 ovs maximum)
| BATTING | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma (c) | c Klaasen b Maharaj | 9 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 180.00 | ||
| Virat Kohli | c Rabada b Jansen | 76 | 59 | 87 | 6 | 2 | 128.81 | ||
| Rishabh Pant † | c †de Kock b Maharaj | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Suryakumar Yadav | c Klaasen b Rabada | 3 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 | ||
| Axar Patel | run out (†de Kock) | 47 | 31 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 151.61 | ||
| Shivam Dube | c Miller b Nortje | 27 | 16 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 168.75 | ||
| Hardik Pandya | not out | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 250.00 | ||
| Ravindra Jadeja | c Maharaj b Nortje | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Extras | (nb 1, w 6) | 7 | |||||||
| TOTAL | 20 Ov (RR: 8.80) | 176/7 | |||||||
| Did not bat: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah | |||||||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Rohit Sharma, 1.4 ov), 2-23 (Rishabh Pant, 1.6 ov), 3-34 (Suryakumar Yadav, 4.3 ov), 4-106 (Axar Patel, 13.3 ov), 5-163 (Virat Kohli, 18.5 ov), 6-174 (Shivam Dube, 19.4 ov), 7-176 (Ravindra Jadeja, 19.6 ov) • DRS | |||||||||
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Jansen | 4 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 12.25 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Keshav Maharaj | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 7.66 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kagiso Rabada | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 9.00 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Aiden Markram | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Anrich Nortje | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6.50 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 8.66 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
South Africa (T: 177 runs from 20 ovs)
| BATTING | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reeza Hendricks | b Bumrah | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 | ||
| Quinton de Kock † | c Kuldeep Yadav b Arshdeep Singh | 39 | 31 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 125.80 | ||
| Aiden Markram (c) | c †Pant b Arshdeep Singh | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 | ||
| Tristan Stubbs | b Patel | 31 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 147.61 | ||
| Heinrich Klaasen | c †Pant b Pandya | 52 | 27 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 192.59 | ||
| David Miller | c Yadav b Pandya | 21 | 17 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 123.52 | ||
| Marco Jansen | b Bumrah | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | ||
| Keshav Maharaj | not out | 2 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 | ||
| Kagiso Rabada | c Yadav b Pandya | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 133.33 | ||
| Anrich Nortje | not out | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Extras | (b 1, lb 4, nb 1, w 3) | 9 | |||||||
| TOTAL | 20 Ov (RR: 8.45) | 169/8 | |||||||
| Did not bat: Tabraiz Shamsi | |||||||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Reeza Hendricks, 1.3 ov), 2-12 (Aiden Markram, 2.3 ov), 3-70 (Tristan Stubbs, 8.5 ov), 4-106 (Quinton de Kock, 12.3 ov), 5-151 (Heinrich Klaasen, 16.1 ov), 6-156 (Marco Jansen, 17.4 ov), 7-161 (David Miller, 19.1 ov), 8-168 (Kagiso Rabada, 19.5 ov) • DRS | |||||||||
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arshdeep Singh | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 4 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 4.50 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Axar Patel | 4 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 12.25 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 4 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 11.25 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 3 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 6.66 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
