India won its 2nd ICC T20 World Cup at Barbados after 17 years wait

The Indian men’s cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, won the 9th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by beating the South Africa team, led by Aiden Markram, by 7 runs in a thrilling final played at the Kensington Oval stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados on 29 June 2024.

India previously won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Thus, after a wait of 17 years, Rohit Sharma and his teammates laid their hand on the coveted  ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy.

Rohit Sharma became the third Indian captain after Kapil Dev (1983 ODI World Cup) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007 T 20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup) to win an ICC World Cup. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India has also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

The final also saw the retirement of three greats of T-20, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja from the T-20 Internationals. However, they are available to play the Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODI) for India.

The win at Barbados was also Rahul Dravid's last assignment as coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.

Kohli and Bowlers Lead India to Victory

India won the toss in the final match and was elected to bat first. India lost 3 quick wickets for 34 runs within the first five overs. India was rescued by two 50-plus-run partnerships, first between Kohli and Axar Patel and again between Kohli and Shivam Dube. 

Virat Kohli was the highest scorer for India, scoring 76 runs in 59 balls, and Axar Patel was the second highest, scoring 47 runs off 31 balls. The India team scored 176 for losing seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs. This was the highest score in a T20 World Cup final. 

Chasing a target of 177, South Africa fell short by 7 runs despite a quick-fire 52 runs of just 27 balls from Heinrich Klassen. 

Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets for 20 runs, followed by Bumrah 2 for 18 runs and Arshdeep Singh 2 for 20  in their allotted 4 overs. 

The South African team, which at one stage needed 30 runs off 30 balls with 6 wickets intact, could not score the required runs after Heinrich Klassen was out to Pandya. The magnificent bowling by Bumrah, Ardhdeep and Pandya helped India defend the total and win their second ICC T20 World Cup.

Final Score: 

India 176 for 7 wickets in 20 overs 

South Africa:169 for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs.

Man of the Match of the Final -Virat Kohli

Player of the Tournament: Jasprit Bumrah, who scored 15 wickets at an average of 8.26. He is the best in the tournament. 

Unique facts about  ICC T20 World Cup 2024

• For the first time, an associate country of the ICC, the USA, was co-hosting the T20 Men’s World Cup. The USA hosted the World Cup with the West Indies.
• For the first time, the eventual champion remained unbeaten in the tournament. India did not lose a single match during the whole tournament.
• South Africa was playing its first final in any ICC World Cup after being readmitted to International cricket in 1991.
• India posted the highest score in the final of the T20 World Cup with a score of 176 for 7 in 20 Overs. 
• Earlier, Australia had scored 172 for 3 (18.5 overs) against New Zealand in 2021
• India won an ICC World Cup after winning the 2011 ODI World Cup under Mahender Singh Dhoni's leadership. 
• Since then, India has played three ICC World Cup finals without success. In 2021, it lost the first ICC Test Championship final to New Zealand, played at Lord Cricket Ground in London, England.
• It lost the final of the second ICC Test Championship to Australia in 2023. The final was played at the Oval Cricket Ground in London, England.
• India lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup against Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2023.

Highest Run Scorer and Wicket Taker of the 2024 T20 World Cup 

Leading Batsmen- Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan with a total of 281 runs at an average of 35.12 and a strike rate of 124.33.

He was followed by Rohit Sharma with 257runs with a strike rate of 156.7

No century was scored in the tournament, with Nicholas Poooran of West Indies being the highest score. He scored  98 against Afghanistan.

Highest Wicket Taker - Fazalhaq Farooqi of Afghanistan and Arshdeep Singh of India,17 wickets each 

Maximum catch by a fielder- South African Captain Aiden Markram,8 catches in the tournament 

Prize Money for the Indian Team 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) total prize money for the 9th ICC T20 World Cup was $11.25 million. India, the winner, received $2.45 million(around Rs 20.42 crore), and South Africa, the runners-up, received $1.28 million (Rs 10.67 crore).

The Indian team also received an extra bonus amount of $31,154 (INR 25.97 lakh) from the ICC for every match they won in the tournament. Thus, the total prize money for the Indian team is Rs 22.63 crores.

BCCI(Board of Control for Cricket in India) Secretary Jay Shah, on behalf of the BCCI, announced a bonus of Rs 125 crore for the entire Indian cricket team, including the coach and support staff.  

India, 3rd team to win Men’s T20 World Cup Twice.

With the victory at the 2024 T20 World Cup, India has joined the West Indies (2012, 2016) and England (2010, 2022) as the only countries to have won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup twice. India had won the Cup in 2007 and again in 2024.

Hurricane Beryl disrupts the Indian Cricket team's return plan

The India team was to depart from Barbados to New York, the USA, and then return to Mumbai on 1 July 2024, per the itinerary. 

However, their return plan is being delayed due to the Beryl hurricane, which is likely to hit Barbados on 30 June/1 July 2024.  The hurricane has been declared a category 4 storm with a minimum wind speed of 209 km per hour. All of Barbados's airports and roads were closed until the storm's passing. 

Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 season to originate in the Atlantic Ocean.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 

T20 was introduced in England, and the first International T-20 match was played between Australia and New Zealand in 2005, with Australia emerging as the winner

Seeing the popularity of the T-20 format, the ICC decided to hold the T-20 Cricket World Cup for men. 

The first T-20 men’s World Cup was organised in South Africa, and India emerged as the champion.