India ended their ICC trophy drought with a thrilling victory against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, in Bridgetown on Saturday. It was a closely-fought encounter as Rohit Sharma and Co. won by seven runs. Defending a target of 177, India restricted South Africa to 169/8 in 20 overs, with Hardik Pandya taking three wickets. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh returned with figures of 2/18 and 2/20 respectively.
Initially, Virat Kohli's 59-ball 76-run knock saw India post 176/7 in 20 overs. Meanwhile, Axar Patel (47) and Shivam Dube (27) also played crucial knocks. The result saw India end their wait for an ICC title, having last won the Champions Trophy in 2013.
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After the match, the happiness was visible in the Indian camp, as Kohli, Arshdeep, Axar, Mohammed Siraj and Rinku Singh did a Bhangra dance to Daler Mehendi's 'Tunak Tunak Tun' in the centre of the ground.
Here is the video:
After the match, Kohli and Rohit also announced their retirements from T20Is. Kohli said, "This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. [if he is confirming if this was his last T20I] Yes I have, this was an open secret. Wasn't something that I was not going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward and do wonders as we have seen them do in the IPL. I have no doubts that they will keep the flag waving high and take this team further from here now. It's been a long wait for us just waiting to win an ICC tournament. It's not just me alone. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it as much as anyone else in the squad."
{{/usCountry}}After the match, Kohli and Rohit also announced their retirements from T20Is. Kohli said, "This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. [if he is confirming if this was his last T20I] Yes I have, this was an open secret. Wasn't something that I was not going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward and do wonders as we have seen them do in the IPL. I have no doubts that they will keep the flag waving high and take this team further from here now. It's been a long wait for us just waiting to win an ICC tournament. It's not just me alone. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it as much as anyone else in the squad."
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Rohit said, "I don't make decisions like this about my future. Whatever I feel is right from inside I try to do that. I don't think much about the future or whether I would play this World Cup after the ODI World Cup last year."
"I never thought that I would retire from T20s. But the situation is such, I thought it is the perfect situation for me. Nothing better than winning the cup and saying goodbye," he added.