advertisement
India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 with a 7-run win over South Africa in the final.
After opting to bat first, India scored 176/7.
Virat Kohli was India's top scorer with a 59-ball 76, while Axar Patel scored a 31-ball 47.
Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje picked up 2 wickets apiece for South Africa.
In the run chase, South Africa scored 169/8.
Hardik Pandya picked up 3 wickets, while Arshdeep Singh & Jasprit Bumrah got 2 wickets apiece.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final: 11 years, 10 tournaments, 0 trophies.
When India won the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, beating England on English soil, it seemed that the team will usher into an era of bountiful rewards. It was India's third ICC trophy in 7 years, following the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup.
And here we are, in big 2024, with India not having added to their collection of ICC trophies ever since. Over the last 11 years, the team has participated in 10 ICC tournaments, and have been agonisingly close to winning three of those, but glory always remained elusive.
Who we have on the opposition box? South Africa, who, let alone winning, have never played in the final of a World Cup. The Proteas played seven World Cup semi-finals, and lost all of those, until they arrived in the West Indies for this tournament. Their only ICC triumph remains the KnockOut Trophy victory, way back in 1998.
So, the narrative has been set. It is the perennial underachievers vs the underachievers from the past decade. One of them will break the jinx today.
Who will it be? We will know in about five hours. Stay with us!
What does the weather forecast say?
Whilst it did rain last night in Bridgetown, Barbados, the weather has cleared up this morning. Currently, the sun is out and shining brightly, and it seems rain will not be an intruder in today's final.
The two sides have faced each other six times in T20 World Cup history, with India holding the upper hand in their head-to-head encounters.
India v South Africa head-to-head in T20 World Cups
Number of matches played: 6
India won: 4 times
South Africa won: 2 times
India v South Africa overall T20Is head-to-head
Number of matches played: 26
India won: 14 times
South Africa won: 11
Both India and South Africa have reached the title clash as unbeaten teams.
A victory for India would serve as a fitting farewell to Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach. For South Africa, who last won the 1998 ICC Knock-Out (then known as the Champions Trophy), the final presents the perfect opportunity to give their country the joy of winning the silverware.
As we gear up for this thrilling showdown in the Caribbean, click here to take a look at five key player battles that shouldn't miss.
As he approaches his final assignment with the Indian team, coach Rahul Dravid lavished praise on captain Rohit Sharma's tactical brilliance and expressed unwavering support for the talismanic Virat Kohli despite his recent dip in form during the tournament.
Find out everything the coach had to say on the eve of the final by clicking here.
Here's what India's journey to the summit clash looks like:
Group A
Beat Ireland by 8 wickets in New York
Beat Pakistan by 6 runs in New York
Beat USA by 7 wickets in New York
Super Eight Stage
Beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in Barbados
Beat Bangladesh by 50 runs in Antigua
Beat Australia by 24 runs in St Lucia
Semi-final
Beat England by 68 runs in Guyana
And the first battle is won by India! Captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss, and India will be batting first in the final. Huge advantage for the Indians!
"I know it's a big occassion, but it's important to remain calm and play it like it's another international game against a good team. South Africa have played good cricket," Rohit said after the toss.
A relaxed South African captain Aiden Markram, who wanted to bat first as well, said "There's absolutely no pressure on us. We've never been in a final and we just want to enjoy it and give our best."
Along expected lines, both India & South Africa have decided not to tinker with their winning combinations. And hence, neither teams have made any changes to their playing XIs.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Before even a ball is bowled in this match, it will be safe to say India have an early advantage, for this pitch favours the teams batting first. All the matches won the chasing teams in Barbados featured an uneven contest in terms of strength on paper, with the chasing teams being comparatively much stronger than the team batting first – Namibia over Oman (match went into Super Over), Scotland over Namibia, West Indies over USA, and England over USA.
Rise up for the national anthems!
Jana Gana Mana first, followed by the 1997-adopted national anthem of South Africa.
It is the same old Ro-Ko opening pair of India. Marco Jansen will bowl the first over for South Africa.
And there you go! Kohli hits an exquisite drive to hit a boundary in the first delivery that he played.
Another four! This one was sliding down the pads, Kohli flicked it towards the square leg region.
And would you believe it? A stunning straight drive to end the over with another boundary. 15 runs came from the first over!
India: 15/0 after 1 over.
South Africa have been dealt with a hammerblow! Rohit Sharma starts the second over, bowled by Keshav Maharaj, with two consecutive boundaries past the short third.
WICKET!
Just when it seemed India had gotten off to a dream start, South Africa have brought the men in blue back to the harsh grounds of reality. Two boundaries had already been hit in this over, but Rohit Sharma went for a third and found Heinrich Klaasen at square leg.
India: 23/1.
WICKET AGAIN!
Calamity strikes for India. Two wickets in the same over for South Africa. Rishabh Pant goes for a sweep but ends up toe-ending it to the gloves of Quinton de Kock. Keshav Maharaj is doing wonders for South Africa.
India: 23/2 after 2 overs.
Another excellent over from the South African perspective. Kagiso Rabada concedes only three runs in his first over.
You have got to feel for Kohli here. On that one day he is striking the ball well, he finds India stuck in a precarious position. Another wicket here could prove to be fatal for India.
India: 26/3 after 3 overs.
Have faith in the class. Have faith in the quality. Have faith in Virat Kohli. India are in a spot of bother but Kohli keeps the scoreboard ticking. Six runs came from Maharaj's second over.
India: 32/2 after 4 overs.
THIRD WICKET!
What's going on here? India have lost their third wicket and we are into just the fifth over of the match. Suryakumar Yadav tries to hit a six down the leg side in his usual fashion, but today, he finds an agile Heinrich Klaasen stationed at fine leg. Kagiso Rabada gets his first wicket of the match.
India: 39/3 after 5 overs.
Smart thinking from the South African captain, Aiden Markram. Seeing India has promoted Axar Patel ahead of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, Markram has decided to roll his arm over. 6 runs come from his first over.
India: 45/3 after 6 overs.
Aiden Markram had held his prime bowling trump card, Anrich Nortje back in the powerplay overs. He is unleashed now, and it is a fine first over, conceding just the four runs.
India: 49/3 after 7 overs.
SIX!
Finally, the shackles have been broken. Axar Patel goes for a maximum and nearly picks out the fielder at deep mid-wicket, but did just about enough to clear the fielder. 10 runs come from the over.
India: 59/3 after 8 overs.
EXEMPLARY!
Axar Patel is batting with supreme confidence here. He now decides to take on Keshav Maharaj and hits a massive six over deep mid-wicket. The tides have turned again.
India: 68/3 after 9 overs.
Tabraiz Shamsi is introduced to bowl the 10th over, and the left-arm wrist spinner starts his day on a positive note, conceding 7 runs.
India: 75/3 after 10 overs.
Back from the drinks break and Marco Jansen has been brought back into the attack. After conceding three boundaries in the first over, the lanky pacer has leaked none upon his return. 7 runs come from the over.
India: 82/3 after 11 overs.
Shamsi has the ball for the 12th over and he starts it with a dot. 3 singles come from the next three deliveries and then Axar Patel flexes his muscles by notching up a flat six. 2 more runs come from the over.
India: 93/3 after 12 overs.
Nortje is reintroduced into the attack and he finishes with another boundaryless over, concedes just 5 from the over.
Meanwhile, Kohli is edging closer to his fifty. Despite the early dismissals of Rohit and Pant, the opener has remained resilient for India alongside Patel.
India: 98/3 after 13 overs.
Axar Patel begins the next Rabada over with a gorgeous maximum and with it India have breached the 100-run mark. Takes a single on the next to bring Kohli back on strike. Oh no! The batter has to depart as he is run-out by de Kock. Massive blow for India, this!
Axar walks back in the hut after a robust knock of 47 off 31.
India: 108/4 after 14 overs.
Following Axar's departure, Dube walks in. He welcomes Jansen with a stunning six off the first ball of the 15th over. 4 more runs come from the over.
India: 118/4 after 15 overs.
Shamsi takes the ball for his 3rd over of the day. Meanwhile, Kohli is looking to go big but has been thwarted each time by a fielder. Dube, on the other hand, slams a boundary on the 5th ball. 8 runs from this over!
India: 126/4 after 16 overs.
FIFTY FOR VIRAT KOHLI!
This had been a nightmarish campaign for the former Indian captain, but cometh the hour, cometh the man! Kohli has been resilient, holding the fort from one end, and he completes his 38th T20I half-century.
India: 134/4 after 17 overs.
And finally he switches gears! Virat Kohli will not hold back anymore, and we are now seeing him at his aggressive best. 16 runs come from the 18th over, which was also Kagiso Rabada's last over.
India: 150/4 after 18 overs.
An excellent innings comes to an end!
This is brilliant death batting from Virat Kohli. The pressure is back in South Africa's camp now, because Kohli struck a four and a six in the penultimate over of the innings. He did lose his wicket after scoring a 59-ball 76, but the Indian fans and management can be happy with how Kohli has performed today.
India: 167/5 after 19 runs.
Wide, 1, 1, 4, Wicket, 2, Wicket.
Overall, this has been an eventful last over of the innings, yielding a wicket for South Africa and 9 runs for India. Shivam Dube should be credited for the cameo he played here, scoring 27 runs in 16 deliveries.
India have scored 176/7 in their 20 overs. South Africa need 177 runs to win.
Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks will begin the chase for the Proteas and Arshdeep Singh will open the attack for India.
After 4 balls, de Kock finally opens his account with a single and Hendricks ends the over with a boundary. Remember, India had scored 3 of them in the opening over.
South Africa: 6/0 after 1 over.
Bumrah draws first blood as he cleans up Reeza Hendricks with a stunning out-swinger. The batter looked to defend the delivery but it was too late as the ball rattled the off stump. What a start for India!
Meanwhile, Markram slams a boundary on the first ball he faces.
South Africa: 11/1 after 2 overs.
Arshdeep Singh is back and another one bites the dust! The lanky pacer has dismissed Proteas skipper Aiden Markram. The batter seemingly tried to attempt an aggressive shot, but the ball got a thick edge, and Pant took catch.
The Indian pacers are breathing fire in Barbados.
South Africa: 14/2 after 3 overs.
8 runs come from Jasprit Bumrah's second over, courtesy of a boundary from Quinton de Kock's willow. South Africa's scoring rate is still under 6.
South Africa: 22/2 after 3 overs.
Axar Patel bowled in the powerplay in the last match against England and struck gold in his first over, but here in the final, his first over yields 10 runs.
South Africa: 32/2 after 5 overs.
Intentions are clear from how the South African batters are playing. They want to take on India's prime bowling threat – the spin trio. Remember, this is Bridgetown in Barbados, not Georgetown in Guyana where the ball spins a mile.
South Africa: 42/2 after 6 overs.
This pair of Tristan Stubbs and Quinton de Kock are keeping the scoreboard ticking for South Africa. The victory line is a country mile afar, but that one ominous sign for India is how comfortable they are looking against the spinners.
India: 49/2 after 7 overs.
Good heavens! This ball might have went to the heaven, for it surely went out of the ground. This is a classic exhibition of spin batting from Quinton de Kock, and Kuldeep Yadav is under the pump here.
South Africa: 62/2 after 8 overs.
WICKET!
Axar Patel – the man with the golden arm, be it with the bat or the ball. Tristan Stubbs makes room to play the sweep, but ends up exposing all three of his stumps to Axar. Bapu does not need a second invitation, as he sends his Delhi Capitals teammate packing.
South Africa: 71/3 in 9 overs.
Hardik Pandya is introduced to bowl his first over, and Heinrich Klaasen welcomes him with a stunning six over deep extra cover. 10 runs came from the over.
South Africa: 81/3 after 10 overs.
KLAASIC KLAASEN!
Among the finest players of spin in this era, Heinrich Klaasen is exuding class here he hits an aesthetically stunning six in Ravindra Jadeja's first over.
South Africa: 93/3 after 11 overs.
Another over where the Indian spinners could not prevent conceding a maximum, and once again it is from Heinrich Klaasen's bat. Kuldeep Yadav concedes 8 runs in his third over.
South Africa: 101/3 after 12 overs.
WICKET!
Exactly what India needed – Quinton de Kock has to depart and the pendulum has swung in India's favour. De Kock attempts to flick towards the leg side for a maximum, but finds the safe hands of Kuldeep Yadav at fine leg. Rohit Sharma should also be praised for this bowling change.
South Africa: 109/4 after 13 overs.
WOW!
Stunning batting from David Miller, as he hits a four and a six in the last two deliveries of Kuldeep Yadav's spell. This has not been Kuldeep's day, who finished with figures of 4-0-45-0.
South Africa: 123/4 after 14 overs.
MAYHEM! MONSTROSITY! MAGNIFICENT!
The game has been turned on its head in just one over. Heinrich Klaasen has taken Axar Patel for a ride, and to the cleaners. 24 runs come from the 15th over.
South Africa: 147/4 after 15 overs.
Rohit Sharma has turned to his trump card Jasprit Bumrah. What other option does he face after the mayhem of the previous over? 4 runs came from Bumrah's third over.
South Africa: 151/4 after 16 overs.
WICKET!
Is there a twist waiting for all of us? Can India crawl their way back into the match? Belief. That is the word.
Heinrich Klaasen throws his bat at a wide delivery from Hardik Pandya and ends up edging it to Rishabh Pant's gloves. Just the 4 runs from Hardik's over. GAME ON!
South Africa: 155/5 after 17 overs.
BOWLED!
Adios, Marco Jansen! What an extraordinary delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, who threads the ball between Jansen's bat and pad as if he is passing the thread through the needle's eye. Just two runs from this over.
South Africa: 157/6 after 18 overs.
First ball – Dot
Second ball – Dot
Third ball – 1 run. David Miller is back on strike.
Fourth ball – 2 runs. 17 off 8 is the equation now.
Fifth ball – 1 run. Excellent yorker.
Sixth ball – Dot.
16 runs. One over.
It all boils down to this over. Here. We. Go.
Ball 1 – WICKET! What a catch by Suryakumar Yadav. Get this man a Khel Ratna. Give him a Parliament seat. Get him a statue outside the BCCI office. A fulltoss, it had 6 runs written all over it, but SKY has taken a flyer.
Ball 2 – Boundary. Off the edge.
Ball 3 – 1 run. Byes.
Ball 4 – 1 run. Leg byes. Start celebrating!
Ball 5 – Wide. Okay, hold the celebrations for now!
Ball 5 – WICKET! Kagiso Rabada is caught at long-off. SKY is at it again, but this is a much simpler catch.
Ball 6 – 1 run.
India have won the World Cup.
𝟏𝟏 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝!
With a stunning all-round display, India have clinched victory from the clutches of defeat to win the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa by 7 runs.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐢𝐧𝐱 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!