India’s men’s cricket team secured a dramatic victory over South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup final on Saturday, ending a 13-year wait for a global cricket championship.
Both teams entered the final in Barbados undefeated. Despite a strong showing from South Africa, India prevented them from surpassing 176 runs, sealing the win.
This victory marks India’s second T20 World Cup title, the first being the inaugural tournament in 2007. It also ends a 13-year World Cup drought across all cricket formats, following several near-misses in recent finals.
“Guys understand when the pressure is on what needs to be done,” said India’s captain Rohit Sharma. “Today was a perfect example; [we] stuck together with our backs to the wall. We wanted this really bad… very proud of the boys and the management.”
Cricket, the world’s second-most popular sport, often confounds many Americans. T20, a shorter version of the game, features each team playing 20 overs. In each over, a bowler delivers six balls, and batsmen aim to score runs. Runs are points earned by hitting the ball and running between the wickets, with two batsmen on the field at a time.
“To get a run, the easiest or probably the hardest way to do it is to whack the ball as hard as you can so that it crosses the boundary line, which is the end of the field,” explained Omkar Khandekar, NPR’s Mumbai producer. “If you can do that, then you start running between what they call the pitch. And the more you run, the more runs you get.”
India’s Comeback in the Match
Virat Kohli, one of India’s star batsmen, played a crucial role in the victory. After opting to bat first, India found themselves in early trouble with only 34 runs in the first five overs. However, Kohli’s efforts helped boost the score. India finished their innings at 176-7, meaning they scored 176 runs with seven players out in 120 balls.
Kohli announced his retirement from T20 World Cup cricket after the match, stating, “This was my last T20 World Cup, and this is what we wanted to achieve. I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered. It’s time for the next generation to take over, some amazing players will take the team forward and keep the flag waving high.”
In his final game, Kohli scored a “half-century,” achieving 50 runs during his time at bat.
When South Africa batted, they appeared strong, reaching 147 runs in 15 overs, largely due to Heinrich Klaasen. However, their momentum waned after Klaasen’s dismissal. Marco Jansen scored only two runs before Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah secured an out. Bumrah’s exceptional bowling earned him the “Player of the Tournament” title.
David Miller scored 21 runs off 17 balls for South Africa, but a stunning catch by India’s Suryakumar Yadav in the last over sealed Miller’s fate. South Africa’s remaining batsmen couldn’t bridge the gap, finishing just seven runs short.
This final was South Africa’s first appearance in an international cricket competition finale.
“Gutted,” said South African captain Aiden Markram. “Hurts quite a bit, but incredibly proud. We never got comfortable, things happened quickly at the back end, but got into a great position to prove we were worthy finalists.”
Following the World Cup win, two of India’s greatest cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, announced their retirements from T20I. Kohli announced his retirement minutes after the historic triumph, while Rohit Sharma made his announcement during the official post-match press conference.
