Agency :
The T20 World Cup (WC) 2024 final witnessed Team India take on South Africa in what promised to be a high-octane clash at the Kensington Oval in the West Indies on June 29th. With both teams going into the encounter without a single defeat, the stakes of the game are even higher with an unbeaten campaign in sight.
Deciding to bat first, Rohit Sharma and co. wanted to put up a challenging total to defend in the 2nd innings. Virat Kohli started with three fours in the very first over which showed a sign of good things to come for India. However, it soon turned into a bad start for the Men in Blue as skipper Rohit Sharma departed cheaply on just 9 runs courtesy of a Keshav Maharaj delivery in the powerplay.
Things went from bad to worse as India lost another 2 wickets within the powerplay after Rishabh Pant’s poorly-timed reverse sweep saw him sent back to the pavilion on a duck. Suryakumar Yadav too didn’t back his good record against The Proteas as his lofted shot was caught by Heinrich Klaasen, giving Kagiso Rabada his first breakthrough of the day.
It was the all-important 72-run partnership of Virat and Axar Patel that gave Team India some sort of momentum in their innings. While Axar scored a 31-ball 47, Virat Kohli also batted mindfully and scored a well-made 76 to help his side get a strong total on the board. It was Kohli who top-scored for India as they managed to post 176/7 in their 20 overs. Shivam Dube’s 27-run cameo proved to be vital for team India as well.
Keshav Maharaj led the bowling lineup with 2 wickets to his name as The Proteas look to put their best foot forward with a bat against a lethal Indian bowling contingent.