On this day last year, Team India etched their name in cricketing history once again by lifting the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 trophy in Barbados, ending an 11-year-long wait for an ICC title. India edged out South Africa in a nail-biting final, winning by seven runs and capturing their second T20 World Cup crown.
The triumph was especially significant for skipper Rohit Sharma, who clinched his first ICC trophy as captain after the heartbreak of losing the 2023 ODI World Cup final to Australia. The victory also served as a grand farewell for two legends of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who bowed out of the T20 format on a winning note.
Rohit had a stellar campaign, scoring 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and an explosive strike rate of over 155. He was the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, leading from the front throughout.
On the bowling front, Arshdeep Singh emerged as India’s top performer, bagging 17 wickets in eight matches at an average of 12.64 and an economy rate below 8. He finished as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
In the final, India, opting to bat first, were reeling at 34/3, but Virat Kohli rose to the occasion with a gritty 76 off 59 balls, marking his first major innings of the tournament. He stitched a crucial 72-run stand with Axar Patel, who struck a quickfire 47 off 31 balls, taking India to a competitive total of 176/7.
South Africa seemed to gain control during a blistering 24-run over by Heinrich Klaasen against Axar Patel. With 30 runs needed off the final 30 balls, the match tilted in their favour. However, Hardik Pandya’s breakthrough dismissal of Klaasen (52 off 27) turned the game.
The defining moment came in the final over, when Suryakumar Yadav pulled off a miraculous boundary-line catch to dismiss a threatening David Miller, sealing India’s historic win as South Africa ended at 169/8.
The victory was not just a sporting achievement but also a sentimental chapter in Indian cricket — marking the end of an era for two stalwarts, and the beginning of a new legacy under the bright lights of Barbados.
