IND vs SA: Team India End 11-Year Drought, Beat SA By 7 Runs To Lift T20 World Cup Title

IND vs SA: Team India were crowned the T20 World Cup 2024 champions as they defeated South Africa by 7 runs in a thrilling tie at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29th. Playing their first-ever World Cup final, The Proteas played good cricket for the 40 overs but were left empty-handed on the day.

Virat Kohli Guided Team IND To 176/7 vs SA

Choosing to bat first, Rohit Sharma and his team aimed to set a challenging target for the second innings. Virat Kohli began strongly with three boundaries in the opening over, indicating promising prospects for India. However, the situation quickly deteriorated as captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed for just 9 runs by Keshav Maharaj during the powerplay.

India's troubles deepened as they lost two more wickets within the powerplay. Rishabh Pant's poorly-timed reverse sweep resulted in a duck, and Suryakumar Yadav was caught by Heinrich Klaasen off Kagiso Rabada, who claimed his first wicket of the day.

A crucial 72-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Axar Patel provided some momentum for India. Axar scored 47 off 31 balls, while Kohli played a thoughtful innings, making 76 runs to help India reach a respectable total.

Kohli was the top scorer for India, who posted 176/7 in their 20 overs. Shivam Dube's 27-run cameo also proved vital for the team.

Klaasen's Fiery Fifty Goes In Vain

In reply, South Africa openers Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks couldn't give their side a good start as Reeza Hendricks was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah in the 2nd over itself.

Quinton de Kock's 39 runs, however, kept the scoreboard running despite a few wickets in between. It was Heinrich Klaasen's ferocious fifty which took South Africa a few runs away from the victory.

However, David Miller's 21, in the end, wasn't enough for his side in a chase that looked a little tricky in the death as Hardik Pandya defended 16 runs off the last over and took Team India to their 2nd T20 World Cup title.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Into The Record Books After His Fiery 76 vs South Africa