India secured the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 championship by defeating South Africa by a margin of seven runs in a tightly contested final held at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, India set a challenging target of 177 runs for South Africa. Virat Kohli led from the front with a commanding 76 off 59 balls, guiding India to recover from early setbacks and post a total of 176/7 in their 20 overs. Kohli’s innings featured six fours and two sixes, anchoring India’s innings after initial wickets fell quickly.
South Africa began their chase aggressively but lost crucial wickets at regular intervals. Jasprit Bumrah struck early by dismissing Reeza Hendricks, followed by Arshdeep Singh removing Aiden Markram. Despite efforts from Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31), Heinrich Klaasen’s quickfire 53 off 32 balls injected momentum into South Africa’s innings. However, India’s bowlers, particularly Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya, picked crucial wickets and restricted South Africa to 169/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, India’s innings saw an early challenge when Keshav Maharaj claimed two quick wickets in the second over, dismissing Rohit Sharma (9) and Rishabh Pant (0). Virat Kohli anchored the innings alongside Suryakumar Yadav, with Axar Patel later contributing a brisk 47 off 31 balls. Kohli’s pivotal knock of 76 runs and partnerships with Shivam Dube and others propelled India to a competitive total of 176/7.
India’s victory was marked by Kohli’s stellar performance with the bat and adept captaincy, securing their status as T20 World Cup champions in a thrilling final encounter against South Africa.
For South Africa, Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj emerged as the wicket-taker bowlers with two wickets each, while Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada chipped in with a wicket apiece.
India’s victory marks their second ICC T20 World Cup triumph, having previously won the inaugural edition in 2007 against Pakistan.
Reflecting on the victory, Indian captain Rohit Sharma praised his team’s resilience and strategic approach. “It was a challenging pitch, but we backed our strengths and executed our plans well,” Sharma said. “Virat Kohli’s innings was crucial in setting up a defendable total, and our bowlers did exceptionally well to defend it against a strong South African lineup.”
“This was my last T20 World Cup and this is exactly what we wanted to achieve,” Kohli said after winning the Player of the Match award for his 76 in India’s seven-run victory against South Africa.
