India has clinched the T20 World Cup title with a thrilling victory over South Africa, marking an end to illustrious T20I careers for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Following the match, Jadeja announced his retirement from T20 internationals, following in the footsteps of Sharma and Kohli. All three players will continue to compete in other cricket formats.
The emotional finale saw coach Rahul Dravid in his last match with the team, adding to the poignant atmosphere.
Reactions have been pouring in, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, celebrating India’s first world title in 13 years.
In the match held in Barbados, South Africa seemed poised for victory, needing only 30 runs from 30 balls thanks to Heinrich Klaasen’s aggressive 52 off 27 deliveries.
However, a stellar performance from Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya, who collectively took seven wickets, turned the tide, restricting South Africa to 169-8 and securing India’s win.
Reflecting on the triumph, captain Rohit Sharma said, “Guys understand when the pressure is on what needs to be done. Today was a perfect example, (we) stuck together with backs to the wall. We wanted this really bad … very proud of the bunch of boys and the management.”
This victory caps a challenging few years for Indian cricket, following losses in the World Test Championship finals and the 50-over World Cup final at home against Australia.
Full List of T20 World Cup Winners and Runners-Up
Full list of T20 World Cup winners and runners-up
EDITION HOST NATION WINNERS RUNNER-UPS
2007 South Africa India Pakistan
2009 England Pakistan Sri Lanka
2010 West Indies England Australia
2012 Sri Lanka West Indies Sri Lanka
2014 Bangladesh Sri Lanka India
2016 India West Indies England
2021 UAE and Oman Australia New Zealand
2022 Australia England Pakistan
2024 USA and West Indies India South Africa
