India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Bridgetown. For the majority of the game, the Proteas had the upper hand, and they required 30 runs off the same number of balls to win the coveted trophy. With Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in the middle, they seemed the favourite before Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya changed the complexion of the game.
Notably, batting first, India lost a few quick wickets before Virat Kohli and Axar Patel stabilised the ship. Nevertheless, Kohli’s strike rate was a massive concern, having scored 76 runs off 59 balls. The legendary Indian cricketer struggled to time the ball for the longest time, but regardless, he spent the majority time in the middle and kept the scoreboard ticking.
Axar, on the other hand, played a vital knock of 47 runs off 31 balls. When nothing was going in India’s favour, Patel’s knock motivated the dressing room and the fans. Later, Shivam Dube too played a cameo of 27 runs off 16 balls as India posted 176 runs on the board in the first innings.
A year later, captain Rohit Sharma revealed that there were lot of nerves in the dressing room after India had lost three early wickets and added that Kohli and Axar’s partnership played a huge role in winning them the game.
“I’m sure he (Kohli) was thinking the same: ‘Today is the day I need to be focused.’ Not worrying about what happened before. And he played a brilliant innings—a fantastic partnership with Axar. After losing those three wickets up front, there were obviously a lot of nerves in the dressing room. I was panicking. I wasn’t comfortable,” Rohit told JioCinema.
“Not many people are talking about Axar’s knock, but it was the game-changer. Scoring 47 off 31 at that stage was vital. And we needed one player to bat through the innings—Virat did that brilliantly. Then we had Shivam, Axar, and Hardik, who came in and played their parts,” he added.
Best moment of my life: Rohit
In the second innings, India suffered, but courtesy of a mind-blowing bowling effort, the Men in Blue won the game from the jaws of defeat. Reflecting ton the same, Rohit said that it was the best moment of his life and spoke how every member of the team had worked tremendously hard in getting the job done.
It was by far the best moment of my life, of my cricketing career - to lift the trophy. It meant so much to all of us, to that group. We’d experienced the heartbreak of coming so close and falling short. That’s why it was special. We planned meticulously. We worked hard every single day, constantly thinking about how to win the World Cup. That’s why every player’s emotions came pouring out on that day,” he said.