OTD: Virat Kohli's heroic 76, India lift the 2024 T20I World Cup
On this day, India won the T20I World Cup after a 17-year wait. The match against South Africa in Bridgetown was filled with thrills in every fold. There was a point in the match where Aiden Markram's team was looking solid to win the silverware. But India, with multiple game changers in the playing XI, did not want to wait any longer to claim the prestigious title.
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On this day, India won the T20I World Cup after a 17-year wait. The match against South Africa in Bridgetown was filled with thrills in every fold. There was a point in the match where Aiden Markram's team was looking solid to win the silverware. But India, with multiple game changers in the playing XI, did not want to wait any longer to claim the prestigious title. Suryakumar Yadav's stunning catch, perhaps the catch of the tournament, stalled the result between two sides. India, captained by Rohit Sharma, became the champion of the 2024 ICC T20I World Cup.
In the first innings, India was in deep trouble when a rampant Keshav Maharaj took the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in 3 balls, and Kagiso Rabada departed Suryakumar Yadav after a few deliveries. When the stage is big and matters are looking complicated, it's the perfect scenario for Virat Kohli to shine. Kohli scored 76 runs off 59 deliveries. In the later part of the innings, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube played 47- and 27-run innings, respectively, to take their team to 176 runs.
A team with fiery batters like Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, and Heinrich Klaasen could easily achieve the total, but Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh had their inch-perfect plans to create a castle to defend the fighting total. Pandya was on a different level on that day. The all-rounder took 3 wickets in 3 overs.
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Virat's batting and Pandya's bowling cherished crores of dream
Klaasen (52) and Miller (21) were among the dangerous batters who lost their wickets against Pandya. The moment when Klaasen was looking to shift the gears, Pandya struck. India won the match by only a 7-run margin.
After the game, Captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Virat Kohli for his unforgettable contributions throughout the series. "No one was in doubt about the form of Virat, on top of his game for the last 15 years. Come the occasion, big players stand up. It is crucial to hold that end for the others to play around him. Team effort because it wasn't a wicket to bat freely. He did that perfectly; that experience all the years come together, and Axar's batting was crucial," Rohit said.
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