Bridgetown (Barbados): India’s journey to the historic win at the ICC T20 World Cup final started from the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, and Men in Blue finished the championship in style.
The makeshift stadium at Nassau County was constructed at a rapid speed of just 106 days with drop-in pitches prepared in Florida after getting shipped from Adelaide, Australia in December last year.
India’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign kicked off in style with an eight-wicket win against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
In the next match against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma-led side edged past their arch-nemesis in a bowler-dominated contest in New York on June 9.
In their last match at Nassau County, India registered a convincing seven-wicket win against the USA on June 12.
In the nail-biting final, South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls to win the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup. But Hardik Pandya’s 3-20 and Jasprit Bumrah’s 2-18 helped an unbeaten India to come back and clinch their second title in the shortest format with a seven-run win at the Kensington Oval.
Talismanic batter Virat Kohli stepped up to end his lean run with a 59-ball 76 to help India post a competitive 176/7, the highest total in a Men’s T20 World Cup final.
His 72-run stand for the fourth wicket with Axar Patel, who made 47 off 31 balls, and a 57-run partnership with Shivam Dube, who hit a 16-ball 27, helped India go past 175-run mark, as they got 42 runs off the last three overs.
In reply, South Africa were very much in sight to chase down the total. But Hardik taking out Heinrich Klaasen propelled India to come back into the match and emerge victorious to end a long 11-year global trophy drought as they restricted South Africa to 169/8.
India now join West Indies and England as two-time winners of the Men's T20 World Cup, and give a winning farewell to head coach Rahul Dravid. With the ultimate glory achieved, it made way for emotional scenes – hugs, handshakes and tears welling up in the Indian camp, with ‘chak de india’ and ‘lehra do’ blaring from the loudspeakers.
Stylish cricketer Virat Kohli also announced retirement from T20I after delivering a match-winning knock of 76.
"This was my last T20 World Cup, and this is what we wanted to achieve," said Kohli after the match. "One day you feel you can't get a run, then things happen. God is great, and I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered. Now or never, last T20 for India, wanted to make the most of it. Wanted to lift the cup, wanted to respect the situation rather than force it. This was an open secret, it's time for the next generation to take over, some amazing players will take the team forward and keep the flag waving high."
