Live
Ind vs SA Highlights - Hardik, Bumrah, Arshdeep and Kohli win the World Cup for India
By Alagappan MuthuIndia are world champions
Rohit Sharma fell flat to the ground.
Rahul Dravid leapt out of his chair.
They are world champions. Finally.
Hardik Pandya has tears in his eyes.
He was public enemy number one in India.
He is world champion.
Virat Kohli carried his idol on his shoulders in 2011.
Now he's going around hugging everybody in his eyeline.
He is world champion again. And he's retiring from T20Is.
Jasprit Bumrah spent a year and more on the sidelines with back injury.
He missed the last T20 World Cup.
This time he emerges as champion.
His wife has him in a hug and isn't letting him go.
Rishabh Pant was near death in 2022.
He is world champion.
Rohit though has separated from the pack. He broke when the last final they got to, when they got there unbeaten, didn't fall their way. Now he's there, with all those feelings welling up inside of him, letting them sweep him away. Eventually he makes his way up to the dressing room, but before slipping out of camera shot, he brings both his hands together and shows respect to the fans.
223
387
117
63
Brave South Africa
South Africa, meanwhile, are bereft.
David Miller has his head in his hands.
Heinrich Klaasen didn't deserve to lose.
They were so close.
They found the strength to end up on the right side of these games earlier.
Many of them nail-biters. Many of them last-ballers.
They came in unbeaten. They were worthy of this final.
They were brave. They were great. They should be celebrated.
South Africa are scattered all over the outfield.
They're so quiet. They're seeking solace in the arms of their loved ones.
De Kock has his kid in his lap and Pant is there too, exchanging smiles.
Miller is hugging his partner with tears down his cheek.
Just imagine though if that first ball of the 20th over had gone for six...
That's what's haunting him now. The ifs and buts.
102
116
37
66
Miller gone!
W
4
1b
1lb
1w
W
1
He should've got six. But he might be walking back. All because Suryakumar Yadav on the long-off boundary has pulled off a catch that will be talked about like Kapil Dev's from 1983
It was a full toss. A wide full toss. Perhaps a mangling of a wide yorker. Miller connects more off the bottom of the bat, but still it flies. SKY is haring to his right, he's at full tilt, he's streching, he shouldn't have any balance out there going as fast as he is, but he does. And then he has the presence of mind to realise that he's close to the rope. He's barely inches from it. So he tosses the ball up, high enough that he can step over the boundary, step back into the field, and keep control of the ball all the way through.
What a player. He's brilliant even without bat in hand. Hardik took out Klaasen to break this game open when it was all the way shut.
94
109
55
33
SA need 16 off the last over
30 off 30 has become 16 off 6.
I'm almost certain India are getting reverse swing out there. And with that, they've only given up six runs in the last 12 balls.
Hardik Pandya will bowl the last over. He was being booed by the entire country in the IPL. Look at where he is now. Look at what is on his shoulders.
58
89
31
36
Arshdeep steps up
•
•
1
2
1
•
Brave Arshdeep. He starts the 19th over with a slower ball. It becomes a dot ball. He's had history losing his lines in the final overs. He's bowling with that in the back of his mind.
SA were 147 for 4 after 15 overs. India at that same time were only 118. How they have clawed back into this final. Rohit is at the bowler's ear. He's been at his most animated since Klaasen fell. This might well be his last chance to become world champion. He is not letting go without giving it everything.
42
51
37
23
Bumrah strikes!
•
•
1
W
•
1
SA's tail is now open! This is an old ball. It's scruffy. It shouldn't be doing these things for a fast bowler. But Bumrah is no ordinary fast bowler. He goes wide of the crease. He lands it outside off. It screams in between bat and pad and brings down Marco Jansen's castle with him looking utterly bewildered. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's reverse seam. Rohit did well to turn to Bumrah without waiting for the later overs. The tension rises with every ball he bowls. What he and Klaasen have done in this game escapes the realm of sense. You cannot be that good when this much is on the line. South Africa need 20 off 12
30
50
23
29
Klaasen falls!
Hardik strikes!
Is this game alive again?!
Good execution - take the power-hitters power away by going wide of his reach. Hardik went offcutter and targeted the tram lines. Klaasen, having so often swung hard and swung well, this time only nicks through to the keeper.
SA need 26 off 23. Six of those balls will come from Bumrah. Jansen in as the last recognised batter, but Maharaj can hang around and Rabada can strike em. Still, that wicket is huge.
24
20
15
19
Klaasen winning it
Klaasen has faced 21 balls and hit five of them out of the ground. One of them with the wind just flew flat and hard over extra cover. Another, went into the wind, and still had enough on it to clatter onto the roof. The power he has is unbelievable. But what's blowing me away is that he's doing all this in a World Cup final. In a South Africa shirt. Does he not know of the curse? Is he exorcising it single-handed?
W
1lb
•
•
•
6
2nb
1
1
1
1
6
1
2
1
1
•
6
1
•
•
1
4
W
•
1
2
2
•
1
1
4
6
4
1w
1w
•
6
6
4
2
This is the game since Klaasen's arrival in the ninth over. Seven of these ten boundaries came off his bat. Four in one over against Axar Patel. Strong of the front foot. Merciless of the back foot. No weakness. No fear.
17
18
16
30
SA dominate Kuldeep
1 time that Kuldeep Yadav has gone wicketless in this T20 World Cup. Today, in the final. He's been hit for 45 runs in four overs, comfortably his most expensive spell. Six boundaries as well, also more than any other match previously
14
14
6
31
De Kock gone
He'd just hit a six over square leg.
India put a man back there.
Arshdeep bowled the same ball.
And this time he's caught.
The game changes again.
As de Kock leaves, the incoming batter David Miller gives him a hug and punches his back. Not too sure how much to read into that but it does suggest that is the last we have seen of him in an SA shirt.
11
15
8
22
Klaasen masterclass
He has just hit a shot off Kuldeep Yadav that should be put in NSFW pile. How do you hit a six off the back foot to a googly turning so far away from you?! Who are you?! What made you?! This is breathtaking batting and he's only 13 balls into his innings. It's hard to imagine any he hasn't timed perfectly. South Africa need 76 off 48 and while he's out there they're actually favourites.
10
10
5
15
De Kock's last dance
Quinton de Kock has hurt India before. He hit a hat-trick of hundreds against them in 2013 to show the kind of player he was going to be. And that swing of his bat. Starts up high. Comes down smooth. Fully uninhibited. I never thought there'd be anyone capable of hitting the ball over square leg quite as well as Sanath Jayasuriya. But this guy comes close.
This might be his last innings for South Africa. He hasn't made an official announcement, but he's dropped the other two formats in favour of family time and T20 league experience. He's out there right now doing everything he can to leave a world champion.
5
5
1
4
The SA experience
CSA have set up a fan park at the Wanderers stadium in Joburg. This is from someone who is there.
Khanyiso Tshwaku: The 2024 autumn was too equitable in May and people believed it would roll over into June, from where one cold snap brought in a sustained freeze, but it could never deter fans from watching outside. They carried the heat of the previous month with them. South Africans know hardship better than everyone else and if it meant watching in the cold, then so be it. The numbers didn’t matter, as the ground was opened up for 5000 people. They made a noise equitable to them and they revelled in the moment of watching the final at the premier cricket ground
4
8
4
3
Axar strikes!
The dangerous Stubbs departs. His entire stay was about throwing India's spinners off their lines and lengths and he falls in the same way. Walks way across his crease, exposing all his stumps, which invites Axar to spear it in at the base. He's too far away from the ball. His cross-bat shot doesn't connect because he is offering less than the full face to a ball that is dying on him. Sneaks under the bat and clatters into off stump. Good composure from the bowler after coming under attack.
What a player Axar has been throughout this World Cup. He has bowled in every match and the most he has gone for is 26 runs. Took that jaw-dropping catch to remove Mitchell Marsh in the semi-final. And earlier today, with the batting in disarray, he scored 47 runs at a strike rate of 151. He's a good shout for Man of the Match if India win this.
9
9
3
5
Kuldeep under the pump
Kuldeep Yadav is having a bit of an off day. India have had to press him into action within the powerplay itself because they know they can't afford to dawdle. But at the end of two overs, he's already been hit for three boundaries. Only one team has hit him for more in a match at this tournament (Afghanistan with four)
1
2
2
1
•
4
4
1
1
1
•
6
7
9
4
6
Stubbs' threat
147 Tristan Stubss' strike rate against spin in T20s. He's good. Averages 35 too. He has fast hands, maybe not quite Glenn Maxwell but enough. So that puts him in good stead to score big runs to bad balls, or adjust to the good ones. He's handy against pace too, strike rate 153 and average 32
10
8
6
6
Markram falls
Arshdeep Singh's wobble-seam ball gets rid of the South African captain. South Africa's batting hasn't had the best time at this World Cup, averaging 21 and striking at 106. They're two-down early.
16 wickets for Arshdeep in this T20 World Cup, the joint-second most by a bowler in a single edition.
21
27
12
4
Bumrah strikes!
Jasprit Bumrah's slower ball is a 120kph offbreak. His seam-up, on-pace ball could very well be a 145kph legbreak. One of those goes dancing past Reeza Hendricks' bat and into his stumps. India didn't have him the last time they were defending a total in a T20 World Cup knockout match. He's already proven how priceless he is. And he's nowhere near stopping.
13
13
10
5
India finish 176
South Africa took out Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav inside five overs - the surest source of impetus for India in T20 cricket. They were able to control the game through the middle because of that. At the death though, which is exactly what Virat Kohli was waiting for all his innings, India broke free (42 runs in the last three). They have a total they can now bowl at and their bowling should benefit from this pitch, at least the spinners should. Their quicks might want to shorten their lengths more. SA will feel this is well within reach, although they will have to pull off the highest successful chase in 18 day games at the Kensington Oval.
This little nugget from out stats wiz Sampath Bandarupalli: Virat Kohli in middle overs today - 23 off 26 balls, 0 boundaries. There are 161 instances of an Indian batter facing 25-plus balls in a middle overs (7-16) in a men's T20I but only two without hitting a boundary. The one before Kohli today was by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who scored 14 off 29 vs Sri Lanka in 2021, having been sent at No.6 due to lack of batters available for selection.
16
13
6
7
Kohli gone
There's a reason why Kohli believes he can succeed by cutting out all risk in order to stay there when the death overs of a T20 game begins. Look at what he's done to Marco Jansen (4-0-49-0) in the 19th over.
1nb
•
4
2
6
W
4
Matt Roller points out more runs for Kohli today (76) than in his first seven innings of this WC (75). It ends there. He made 26 runs off his last 11 balls.
18
17
11
11
Kohli fifty
He gets there off the 48th ball he faces. Didn't bother raising his bat. It's been a struggle. The early wickets tempered any thoughts of aggression. He's only tried to hit 16 of the balls he's faced to the boundary. Succeeded only four times. Thise whole innings has been about ensuring India have something to bowl at. Even if it is just par. Time will tell if that's the right call.
48 balls to get fifty. It is Kohli's slowest in all T20s - His previous slowest was 47 balls vs Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2016, while his previous slowest in T20Is was off 45 balls vs Pakistan in 2021 WC.
6
2
4
1
1w
1
1
The 18th over, from Rabada, provides Kohli his first boundary since the fourth over. India up to 150.
15
23
8
8
Bang it in
There's a bit of bounce that's helping SA's tall bowlers. Jansen, their tallest, was routinely getting too big for Kohli as he attempted to hook him. Going into the wicket has definitely helped them keep control. They're better used to banging on that kind of length. India, though, prefer pitching it up and right now the stats suggest that isn't quite the best way to go about things.
This includes all bowlers until the 15th over
This is just the quicks until the 15th over
9
12
5
9
Axar run-out
Ohhhh Quinny Quinnnyyyy!
He's run-out Axar Patel after the ball clipped Kohli's pads and came through to the keeper. Incredible presence of mind to see the non-striker off his crease.
Even as the throw went off to the boundary, de Kock had a huge smile on his face. He knew what he's done and replays confirm it. Axar's done a job. He prevented the batting from collapsing and saving India's hitters until they have a better point of entry. Now its over to Dube and Hardik to show the gamble was worth it.
4
4
1
7
Shamsi keeps it tight
He's actually bowling a lot like Kuldeep Yadav. The new and improved version. Quicker through the air. And a straighter arm on release than is typical of wristspinners. He's focused on keeping all three stumps in play, and from there, he's getting both ways turn. It's been hard to line him up.
3 boundaries that SA have given up in the seven overs since the powerplay
8
9
7
7
Halfway
Kohli: 14 off 5. Then 22 off 24. He's left it all on Axar to play the attacking role and though he's managed a couple of sixes, you'd think South Africa are more than happy with proceedings so far. India 75 for 3 after 10. ESPNcricinfo forecaster says they are on course to reach 171.
India must believe that in a World Cup final, they could still be able to work with a par total. And not for nothing, they have the best bowling attack in the comp.
9
22
6
5
Markram's SA
Aiden Markram was the first male South Africa captain to lift a World Cup. He was 19.
He's been the chosen one forever. And this tournament has been the making of him. Not so much as a batter, because he is already one of the world's best, and he became that after undergoing serious struggle. There was a time when he was an opening bat. There was a time when even whispering the name Rangana Herath would've given him PTSD. That's all in the past because he showed the strength to reinvent himself.
Virtually all of South Africa's games in this World Cup have gone into the final over with the result nowhere near clear. Markram kept his men in the fight, under him, they've shown they are not daunted by either the occasion or the pain that comes with loss. That's the kind of leader you plumb your depths for.
8
8
1
3
Kohli's game
There was another man tracking that ball all the way into the hands. Virat Kohli. HIs head fell straight away as he realised what had happened. This game is on him now, or at least, that's how he's playing. He's not taking any risks. He's focused simply on turning the good balls that SA are racking up into singles and waiting on the bad ones to put them away.
8 aggressive shots attempted by India since that double-wicket second over from SA. They're definitely in regroup mode
9
9
7
4
SKY falls
Rabada strikes! SA BOOMIN!
Its a shot he likes playing, the whip over fine leg. There was pace on the ball. Surya is an expert at harnessing it. Shifts inside the line. Works his wrists over on contact. That routine has fetched him six so many times. But here, it lands in Heinrich Klaasen's hands. Lovely catch too. Saw it all the way and was never in doubt.
Matt Roller from Kensington: Wow, big response to that wicket from SA. Whole team runs down to long leg to celebrate with Klaasen, Rabada absolutely pumped and sprints down clenching both fists. Superb judgement of the catch given the stiff breeze
India have gone for their circuit breaker now, Axar Patel promoted. This is very much not plan A for them.
10
10
8
15
Pant falls
4
4
•
W
•
W
So first over to India. Second over to South Africa. This final is already cookin.
Maharaj's full tosses have really been magic in this tournament. He stopped Bangladesh winning a straight-forward game in the group stages. Now he gets rid of Pant, a left-hand batter, who theoretically should've had the upper hand against his left-arm spin.
Now do India reassess? Or do they keep coming hard? Rohit has been their clearest source of impetus at the top of the order. SA have given themselves a HUGE chance getting rid of him early.
6
6
11
21
Rohit falls
There is turn. And bounce. Keshav Maharaj - as prophesised by Nagraj Gollapudi yesterday - takes the new ball and creates uncertainty.
The funny thing though, the two best balls he bowled, went for four. Top-edge on the cut. And a reverse sweep that once again showcases just how much of a changed batter Rohit Sharma is.
In the effort to keep going, to keep the pressure on, to find a score that will suffocate the opposition, Rohit looks for more boundaries. This is the way he wants his team to play and so he plays that way too. Even if it leads to situations like this, where he finds square leg on the sweep. The ball was there for the shot. He nailed it.
3
3
4
10
Kohli gets going
1
4
4
2
•
4
Two freebies from Marco Jansen. Perhaps a sign of nerves. He's gone half-volley, one too wide, one too straight, and been pasted on either side of the wicket. Lovely balance from Virat Kohli, especially to the second boundary, which did swing into him a bit. One over in and he's already got his third-highest score in the tournament.
15 runs to kick off the final. That's the second-most runs that India have scored in an over in T20 World Cups
6
6
4
2
History
2 wins out of 7 for teams batting first in the T20 World Cup final - by India in 2007 and WI in 2012. This game, btw, is the 100th T20 hosted by Kensington Oval in Barbados
3
5
2
4
Toss: India bat
Huge cheer around the ground as they realise Rohit has won the toss. He's basing his decision on having played a game in Barbados already, where they batted first again and scored 181. "We have to find ways to stay under control. Everyone has their own way. Just stay calm and controlled." Same team
Aiden Markram says he would've preferred to bat as well. Dry pitch, he says. Subtext: there might be grip and turn later. "Really striving for that perfect game. Although we'll be happy to get as close to it as possible. This is the opportunity the guys have all wanted." Same team
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Heinrich Klaasen 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi
4
6
4
3
The hype
4
3
4
2
Welcome!
They are out in search of the tangible. The trophy they want is tangible. The title they want is tangible. They have spent their lives in pursuit of this goal. And we’ve been there with them. Watching them. Living through them. Lifting them up. Cursing them out. Connected through time and space. Bound by means that cannot really be explained except that its always been there and it always will be. We don’t need a trophy to show that our support is real. They don’t need a trophy to show that their dedication is real. But its on offer so lets try to take it.
The T20 World Cup is already becoming a remarkable piece of silverware. It came into being less than two decades ago but is already gaining ground on more established tournaments. So for 40 overs - give or take a Super Over - nothing will matter as much as the ball and bat they will be holding in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, both India and South Africa should be reminded that they are excellent teams and exceptional people. They should both be able to share their love with family. Toast their time with colleagues. Chase after their children. Enjoy the compassion of their fans. If any of that is contingent on the colour of the medal around their necks, we're doing something really wrong.
10
17
5
4