Rohit Sharma was wandering aimlessly, still trying to fathom whether he had finally laid his hands on the World Cup.
Hardik Pandya wept, Rahul Dravid jumped out of his chair before sprinting to the ground, and both Virat Kohli and Rohit announced to the world that they were done playing T20 Internationals.
India’s second T20 World Cup triumph had come after a 17-year gap, via a narrow seven-run margin in Bridgetown.
Arms raised, Jasprit Bumrah’s celebratory jig had seemed to herald the end of South Africa’s chase as early as the 18th over.
Rohit’s team had suddenly sensed an opportunity after being crippled by South Africa’s batting crusade against a famed spin attack for most of the middle overs on Saturday. The chase of 177, the highest in a T20 World Cup final, had abruptly gone wobbly after looking a cinch a couple of overs earlier.
Bumrah went wide of the crease and landed it outside off. The ball angled in between Marco Jansen’s bat and pad to clip the bails. South Africa needed 21 runs off 14 balls at that stage.
They wilted under pressure as Arshdeep Singh gave away only four in the next over.
With 16 needed off the final six balls, Suryakumar Yadav produced an acrobatic catch at wide long off, clawing the ball back into play from over the ropes and grabbing it
with both hands to send David Miller back.
When Bumrah had returned for his second spell, South Africa needed 30 from 30. Heinrich Klaasen had just smashed 24 runs off an Axar Patel over to send shivers down the Indians’ spines.
Bumrah bowled a tight over for just four, after which Hardik Pandya clipped South Africa’s wings, first removing Klaasen and later Millerand Kagiso Rabada in the last over.
In the land of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, the Indian fast bowlers on Saturday had the rare opportunity to showcase their range of skills.
If Bumrah was sensational, removing Reeza Hendricks with the perfect outswinger, Pandya’s accuracy and tactical astuteness were a threat.
Rohit’s team had finally smashed open the gates in an ICC trophy final after two failed attempts in the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup.
The childlike glee on Rohit’s face was not to be missed at the toss. He was confidence personified and didn’t hesitate to take first strike even though a similar situation — having been put in — seven months earlier had met with a tragic end.
While the Indians appeared relaxed, the never-been-in-final South Africans’ nerves seemed to be jangling as Kohli carted three boundaries in the first over. But fortunes do change quickly in this format: Keshav Maharaj sowed doubts in the batters’ minds, removing Rohit and Rishabh Pant in the next over.
Rabada craftily plotted Suryakumar’s dismissal as India crashed to 34/3 inside the fifth over but Kohli’s presence was reassuring. Axar Patel showed the grit and skill to stitch together 72 off 54 balls with Kohli.
ICC T20 World Cup 2024 - Final - India v South Africa - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados - June 29, 2024 India coach Rahul Dravid celebrates after winning the T20 World Cup Reuters
South Africa had done their homework for the Rohits and the Kohlis but the initial onslaught came from unexpected quarters — first Axar and then Shivam Dube made them pay for their fuller lengths. Nor did banging it short work.
Kohli’s innings could be divided into three phases. He raced to 14 off the first five balls and then, as three wickets fell in the Powerplay, he retreated into a shell. The next 22 runs came off 24 balls and the half-century off 48 as Kohli went 37 balls without striking a boundary. But as the death overs set in, he broke free. He launched into Rabada first and then into Jansen as 26 runs came off 11.
It was mainly because of him that 42 runs came off in the last three overs. That proved the knockout punch. A master had come good just when it counted.
