Bridgetown: Hardik Pandya was already struggling to contain his emotions after India won the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup by defeating South Africa in a nailbiting finals, when skipper Rohit Sharma came and planted a hard kiss on the cheek of his emotional teammate, right in the middle of his interview with the official broadcaster.
This incredible scene on the ground of Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 29, 2024, reflected what this victory meant for this Indian team.
Before this light moment, there were tears of ecstasy and agony. Ecstacy for the champions and dejection for a side that was doomed to carry on the unwanted tag of chokers.
That was the difference between victory and defeat in a match that matters the most.
Rohit lay on the ground, his chest facing the ground, perhaps thanking for the prayers answered and the hard work of years yielding the result so desperately sought.
He had lost two World Cup finals and was close to losing another high-pressure game but this time he crossed the line along with a bunch of players he believed in.
Finally, the Indian skipper had his moment.
He was part of the Indian team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and now he is bidding adieu to the format after winning the second title that the Indian team has annexed, after an agonising wait for 17 years.
It was the perfect moment for him to leave the shortest format, on a high.
Same for arguably the greatest batter of the modern era – Virat Kohli! He struggled for runs in the entire tournament but scored when it mattered the most. His 76 was the cornerstone of India’s competitive total.
Before the World Cup began there was a debate around Kohli’s inclusion in the side for this format, considering his low strike rate. But the champion batter showed why he is called one.
The chips were down with India losing three quick wickets but he dug his heels and carried his side to a total from where his bowlers had a chance.
It, indeed, was a perfect way to call it quits for both Rohit and Virat!
And finally, the Team India coach Rahul Dravid had his moment under the sun. He could not win a World Cup as a player but on the last day of his assignment as India coach, Dravid had a World Cup trophy to lay his hands on at the very end of his coaching assignment. It meant the world to him.
Someone who has been a master of hiding his emotions all these years, he allowed himself to be swept by the emotions — emotions of victory and relief. He was pumping his fist in the air and shouting ‘Come on!’. It was a rare sight to watch.
Pandya has gone through a lot in his personal and professional life in the last few months. Being booed by the fans for replacing the much-loved Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians skipper, Pandya had copped a lot of unfair flak and ire of the fans. Then there were unconfirmed reports of his marriage falling apart. He had undergone a lot. When he was asked to defend 16 runs in the last over, he could have walked out either as a hero or a villain. It was a time to win back his fans and he did that with aplomb. It was just natural that he could not stop his eyes from pouring out those sentiments.
In complete contrast, Miller hung his head while resting his arms on the billboards on the fence.
He could have steered his side to the greatest victory in South African cricket history but his shot off Pandya on the first ball of the last over, soaring high, was halted by a Surya Kumar Yadav special on the boundary ropes.
Who knows if Miller had found a boundary on that ball, the Proteas would have perhaps shed the unwanted tag of ‘chokers’. The finals had all the stuff that makes cricket a game of glorious uncertainties. While South Africa at one stage looked certain to clinch victory when chasing 177 to win, the Proteas needed 71 runs off 45 balls with six wickets in hand and the pair of Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen leading their chase. However, India as a team prevailed with some breathtaking cricket, and holding its nerves.
It speaks volumes of the genius of a team which remained the only unbeaten side throughout the tournament.
However, South Africa deserves credit for giving India a tough fight and reminding all of last year’s One Day International World Cup, where India had remained unbeaten till reaching the finals when Australia finally defeated it.
The last time India won the T20 trophy was in 2007 and the last time that it won a cricket world championship was in 2011 when it became the champion in the game’s 50 overs format. On both occasions, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain.
With today’s win, India now has under its belt four cricket world championship titles, the first being won under the captaincy of Kapil Dev in England in 1983, and Rohit Sharma has joined this elite league of these legendary captains of the Indian cricket team.
– global bihari bureau
