India’s recent heartbreaks were no longer a concern for Rohit Sharma when the Indian skipper marshalled his troops in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa. Before Rohit and Co. ended India’s long wait for an ICC title, the Virat Kohli-starrer side had to settle for the runners-up tag in back-to-back finals of the major tournaments. As the great Sunil Gavaskar pointed out, Team India was getting beaten in the nervous 90s by making semi-final and final appearances of ICC events.
On Saturday, India crossed the final hurdle by registering a memorable win over South Africa in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup. Living up to Rohit‘s expectations, batting icon Kohli saved his best for the last as the Indian opener smashed a match-winning 76 (59) against Aiden Markram’s South Africa in the T20 World Cup final contested at the Kensington Oval. Kohli’s batting masterclass paved the way for Rohit’s men to upstage the Proteas by seven runs.
Gavaskar relieved to see Rohit ending World Cup drought
Reflecting on India’s World Cup triumph, batting legend Gavaskar observed that winning the T20 title in the Caribbean is like finally notching up a century for the Rahul Dravid-coached side. “It is a great win after such a long time. Earlier, I kept saying that India was getting 90s but not getting centuries because they were reaching semi-finals and finals. Now, they have got a century and what a wonderful century this is,” Gavaskar told news agency PTI.
With Rohit at the helm, India became the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup without losing a single game. Rohit is the second Indian skipper after MS Dhoni to win an ICC T20 World Cup title. India also ended South Africa’s unbeaten run by defeating the Proteas in the final-over thriller. Opener Kohli was named the Player of the Match while pace ace Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Player of the Tournament award.
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Veteran opener Rohit became the first player to win the T20 World Cup both as a player (2007) and captain (2024). After guiding India to World Cup glory, skipper Rohit joined Kohli in announcing his retirement from T20Is. A day after India’s World Cup triumph, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also bid farewell to T20I cricket. On Monday, the International Cricket Council picked six Indians for the Team of the Tournament.
