Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team defeated Aiden Markram's South Africa in the Final of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, on June 29 (Saturday). The Men in Blue ended their 11-year-long trophy drought. This was an extremely emotional moment for the Indian side and it was visible on the faces of the Indian team. No one including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Mohammed Siraj could control their tears. The game was really close, South Africa put up a great fight but eventually fell short. India become the third team to win two T20 World Cups after West Indies and England.
Indian players get emotional
Indian players were extremely emotional after their historic win. The reaction was expected even legendary icons like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya could not hold their tears back.
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Virat announces emotional retirement from T20Is
After playing a match-winning knock of 76 runs, for which Virat Kohli even won the Player of the Match award, announced his retirement from the T20 Internationals. He said it is time for the young guns to take over.
“This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can't get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation. This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. Wanted to Yes I have, this was an open secret. Not something that I wasn't going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward. It's been a long wait for us, waiting to win an ICC tournament. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it. It's been difficult to hold things (emotions) back and I think it's going to sink in later. It's an amazing day and I'm thankful,” said Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation.
Indian batting first posted 176/7 in 20 overs with the help of Kohli's fifty and cameos from Axar Patel and Shivam Dube. Later in the bowling Heinrich Klaasen almost took the game away from India with his quickfire fifty but Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya helped India win their 6th ICC title.
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