Mumbai: Team India have finally broken the drought of a major global title, but how?
In perhaps the most dramatic and memorable T20 World Cup final, Rohit Sharma’s men pipped South Africa by 7 runs at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
India looked to have missed the bus yet again when South Africa, powered by a brutal Heinrich Klaasen assault (52 off 27 balls 2×4, 5×6), reached 151/4 at the end of 16 overs. They needed just 26 runs in 24 balls.
Then, the game turned on its head.
Klaasen threw his wicket away, nicking a wide ball from Hardik Pandya to Rishabh Pant, while Marco Jansen was castled by another beauty from the irrepressible Jasprit Bumrah.
With 17 needed in the final over, South Africa banked on the big-hitting skills of David Miller. But the left-hander fell to a stunning in-and-out catch on the boundary line by Suryakumar Yadav.
That ended the hopes of South Africa, who choked once again on the big stage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Earlier, Virat Kohli’s 76 off 58 balls helped India recover from a horror start (34/3) to post a challenging 176/7.
Brief scores
India 176/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 76, Axar Patel 47; Keshav Maharaj 2/23, Anrich Nortje 2/26).
South Africa 169/8 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 52, Quinton de Kock 39, Tristan Stubbs 31; Hardik Panya 3/20, Jasprit Bumrah 2/18, Arshdeep Singh 2/20).
Result: India won by 7 runs.
Man of the Final: Virat Kohli.
Man of the Tournament: Jasprit Singh.