The 2024 T20 World Cup has commenced, and India reigned supreme, winning the title for a record two times after defeating South Africa in Barbados, tying with West Indies and Australia in the process. This World Cup win marked the end of India’s 17-year stint in the tournament. After India won the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007, it lost the next seven World Cups. This is the first ICC trophy under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, and it was the crowning jewel in his career, which he had eagerly waited for years.
India and South Africa faced each other in the finals. After India won the toss, Rohit Sharma decided to bat first. India scored 176 at seven down, with Virat Kohli being the highest scorer of the match. South Africa was going strong at the beginning and middle part of the game; however, a single catch changed the tide, and India went on to beat South Africa to win their second T20 World Cup title.
The highlight of the match was Suryakumar Yadav’s amazing catch, which basically handed India the victory. Netizens shared their views on the catch, and many people worldwide called it one of the greatest catches in cricket history, considering the fact that the stakes were so high. All in all, it was a nail-biting match until the very end.
Awards And Recognitions
The T20 World Cup 2024 saw some great performances from various players. However, only a few could make a long-lasting mark. The players who were awarded in the 2024 World Cup include-
1- Jasprit Bumhrah– For his outstanding performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, Bumrah was awarded the “Man Of The Tournament” award. In the entire tournament, Jasprit Bumrah played eight innings and took 15 wickets with an economy of 4.17.
2- Rohit Sharma: For his exceptional captaincy throughout the tournament, Rohit Sharma received the “Captain of the Team Of The Tournament” award. He also achieved the milestone of hitting 600 sixes in all the international formats.
3- Virat Kohli– The star batsman of India, Virat Kohli, played a much-needed 76-run knock when all the other batsmen were getting out left and right.For this performance, he was awarded the “Player of the Match” title.
Background
Many players in the T20 World Cup 2024 were struggling with their past performance or a life-threatening injury.
Rishabh Pant: Rishabh had an accident that hospitalised him for weeks and kept him out of competition for more than a year. Many people questioned his selection in the World Cup squad. But Pant proved everybody wrong and went on to win the World Cup. His batting and wicketkeeping were on point. Throughout the tournament, Pant maintained a strike rate of 127.61 and an average run score of 24.42, with a total of 127 runs in the whole tournament.
Hardik Pandya: Hardik also had a lacklustre performance in the IPL, and many people weren’t positive about his position in the T20 World Cup squad. However, Pandya’s performance in the World Cup was good, and he showed that he deserved the place. Most importantly, Hardik performed in the most crucial moments of the tournament, the death overs of the final. In the final against South Africa, Pandya took 2 of the most crucial wickets, Miller and Rabada, which changed the course of the match in India’s favour.
Rohit Sharma– Ever since Rohit became the captain of team India in all the formats, he has played the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and the inaugural Test Cricket World Cup. However, he always fell short of bagging the titles. Many experts and pundits believe that Rohit Sharma will go down in history as one of the captains who couldn’t win India even a single ICC trophy. However, he kept his head low and proved everybody wrong in the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma became one of the only three Indian captains to win an ICC trophy for India.
Aftermatch
After the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20 cricket. However, the President of the Board For Control Of Cricket In India, Jay Sah, said that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan, will be played in the ODI format, and India’s National Men’s team will include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja. This came as good news after Indian cricket fans were left in tears due to the retirement news of these legends.
Preparing For Champions Trophy 2025
The Indian National National Men’s team for Champions Trophy 2025 isn’t final yet. However, it’s safe to say that Team India is preparing for the tournament in advance. If India wins the Champions Trophy, then Rohit will become the only captain other than Dhoni to win more than one ICC tournament as a captain.