11 years, and 5 days since we won the last ICC Trophy in 2013; 16 years, 9 months, and 5 days since we won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and after failing short of the finish line multiple times in the last decade or so; Rohit Sharma and his men finally breached the final frontier by the lifting the T20 World Cup in Barbados, while soaking with pride in the rain that followed, as millions of fans back home shed tears of happiness on the trophy drought being ended with a victory that is set to enter the cricketing folklore.

Group Stage

This tournament had a newer and wider format giving more opportunities to smaller nations. India started its campaign with the game against Ireland on June 5, which it ended up winning easily. Ireland was bundled out for just 96, with Bumrah grabbing 2 wickets for 6 runs, while Arshdeep and Pandya chipped in with 2 and 3 wickets respectively. As expected, the chase was going to be a cakewalk for India as it won the game in the 13th over with Rohit scoring a 50 and Pant an unbeaten 36.

It was the next game against Pakistan, which people were expecting to be a ‘banger’. Interstingly, Pakistan came into the match after losing to the USA, a team half of cricket fans got to know in this tournament only. The damp wicket ensured that the game turned out to be an exciting low-scoring thriller. Being asked to bat, India found itself struggling on the sluggish wicket. As the scoreboard read 19/2 after Virat and Rohit departed, Pant led India’s recovery with a solid 31-ball-42 and was well supported by Axar (20). But, Pakistan upped the ante as India was reduced from 89/4 to 96/7. Eventually, India was bundled out at 119 at the end of 19 overs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf grabbed three wickets each.

Jasprit Bumrah bamboozled Pakistan with his magical spell and carved out a narrow win for India (Photo: DD News)

It seemed an easy target for any team, and Pakistan started off well. But, India kept its bowling tight and didn’t allow runs to come at a quick pace while also taking wickets at regular intervals. Pakistan was not at all being helped by Mohammed Rizwan’s ultra-slow knock of 31 off 44 (yes and not the other way around). At 73-3 in 12 odd overs, it was still Pakistan’s game, but from there, India inflicted the turnaround. As required rate started ticking, Rizwan, after facing a lot of dots, picked the wrong bowler to attack…Bumrah and, he was bowled right on. From here on, India literally choked Pakistan for runs leaving them scrambling at 102/6 after 19 overs. A couple of good shots from Naseem Shah at the end were far from enough to take Pakistan across the line, as it fell short by 6 runs. Bumrah was the mighty pick of the bowlers for his match-winning 3/14.

India’s next game was against the USA. India restricted the USA to 110/8 in 20 overs riding on Arshdeep’s fiery 4/9 spell. USA, which had previously defeated Pakistan initially posed a mini scare reducing India to 10/2 with both Virat and Rohit in the pavilion. But, from there on, a quick-fire fifty by Suryakumar Yadav took India easily past the target. India’s last game against Canada was abandoned due to rain, and so was the one between the USA and Ireland which meant Pakistan faced a first-round exit and it was the co-hosts USA, that advanced to the Super-8. The wickets in the USA were already being criticised fro being too damp. But the bigger stupidity in my opinion was to demolish the whole stadium after the matches were over.

Virat Kohli struggled to make a mark throughout the tournament as he focussed too much on his strike rate (Photo: News18)

The Super 8 Stage

India’s first game in the Super 8 stage was against the mighty Afghanistan. Winning toss, India headed to a strong start. Virat entered the double digits for the first time in the tournament with a 24 (24). Surya led the batting with 28-ball 53 and was ably supported by small cameos — Pant (20 off 11), and Pandya (32 off 24), taking India to a good enough 181. This target turned out to be too much for Afghans, as they were restricted to 134, with Bumrah and Arshdeep taking 3 wickets each and Kuldeep too chipping in with 2. Notably, this was India’s first game outside the USA (in West Indies), the wicket was better and there was a crucial change in India’s lineup, as Kuldeep replaced Siraj, bringing another strong spin option, while putting an additional burden on Hardik the pacer.

Two days later, India was up against Bangladesh, and the latter asked India to bat first after winning the toss. Almost every batter chipped in at quick pace in this game; Pandya was the top scorer with his solid finishing 50, while valuable contributions from Rohit 23 (11), Virat 37 (28), Pant 36 (24), and Dube 34 (24) throughout the innings took India to a huge total of 196. This was anyways going to be too much for Bangladesh, as they were restricted to 146. Kuldeep was the pick of the bowler with his 3 for 19, while Bumrah and Arshdeep took 2 wickets each.

Skipper Rohit Sharma went on a rampage against arch-rivals Australia with a career-best knock (Photo: Sportstar)

The Redemption against Aussies

India’s next game was against Australia, who I have already said I don’t want to see winning even a bilateral series anymore. No doubt, the game was high on emotions, keeping in mind the last main encounter between the two teams (PS: Two teams also played a T20I series after the 2023 WC Final). Rohit Sharma, especially took the WC final loss a little too personally (rightly so) and came guns blazing at Aussie bowling right away. Mitchell Starc has never been hit for 2 sixes in an over in his international career, but Rohit smashed him for 4 that day, in the 28-run over. The first ball Cummins (the ODI skipper) bowled, Rohit slogged him almost out of the stadium. These instances are enough to show how mammoth the 41-ball 92 knock of Rohit was. Cameos from Surya (31 off 16), Pandya (27 off 17) and Dube (28 off 22) further propelled India to 205, which was a strong total. The only disappointment remained that Virat once again failed to turn up with the bat and got out for his second duck of the tournament.

India drew the first blood quite early with Arshdeep edging out Warner in the very first over. But, the next few overs were not that pleasing as the Aussies put up a formidable display of batting with skipper Marsh and Travis Head (the centurion of the WC Final) scoring runs on a rampage. Finally, India got rid of Marsh at 37 (28). This didn’t make things easier for India as Maxwell continued the tempo for his team. At 128-2 in 13 overs, the Aussies seemed ahead, but Kuldeep brought India back in the game by dismissing Maxwell with a slipper. Following this, wickets fell at regular intervals and Head, from whom the game had gone much ahead now, was also dismissed by Bumrah after a dangerous 76 (43). India won the game comprehensively by 24 runs and it was a sweet redemption against the arch-rivals, who were kicked out of the competition. The fact that Australia also lost to Afghanistan — giving a famous underdog story in the history of sports — made India’s victory even sweeter.

All-rounder Axar Patel ran through the English line-up weaving his spin magic (Photo: NDTV)

The English Redemption in Semis

India had lost the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup against England in Adelaide. This time, England won the toss and asked India to bat first. India once again came out with clear intent and took on the English bowlers. Virat got out after hitting one six, but Rohit continued with his blistering attack. He was strongly supported by Surya’s 47 and Pandya’s quick-fire cameo of 23 (13). Some good shots by Jadeja and Axar at the end took India to a competitive 171 at the end of 20 overs. Keeping in mind, that England chased 168 in 15-odd overs without losing any wickets against India, on the same platform 2 years back, meant India couldn’t have taken the score for granted. The wicket this time, however, had cracks and more opportunities for spinners, unlike Adelaide.

Skipper Buttler took England to a flying start scoring 26 in 3 overs, but from there on it was a show dominated by Indian spinners. Axar drawing first blood in Buttler, followed by Moeen and dangerous Bairstow left England reeling at 35-3. Kuldeep too chipped in with another 3-wicket haul, completely crushing the English batting. Bumrah (2 for 12) finished things off as England was bundled out at 103, cruising India to a huge win of 68 runs. India had entered another final, displaying a brilliant level of consistency (keeping in mind no other team even Australia or England have been this consistent across tournaments recently). At this stage, I wanted to be very happy but in fact ‘meri phati hui thi’ as I remembered being happy in a similar situation on November 15, 2023, but what had followed then was distraught.

King Kohli finally returned to his colours with a brilliant 76 runs in the Final (Photo: Guardian)

The Roller Coaster Ride to the Trophy

29th June, the final game at Barbados, and the whole nation’s breath, hopes and mental health (at least mine) depends on just one result. India won the toss and chose to bat first. Honestly, I was having some bad feelings about this and felt India should have chased, but anyway. Rohit and Virat came guns blazing at Proteas bowling. Virat, who had a terrible outing till now managing only 75 runs in 7 innings, hit 3 boundaries in his first four balls. Rohit got out when India was 23/1 in the second over itself. Pant and Surya tried to continue the tempo, but were dismissed within quick succession, leaving India in trouble at 34/3.

From here on, Virat took on the anchor role holding onto one end. Axar was promoted at 5, and he took charge of scoring runs. Decorated with some brilliant hits, Axar scored a well-made 47 (31), only to get run out in an unfortunate fashion. Following his dismissal, the role was taken by Dube, who too made a valuable 27 (16) with some good shots. Virat, who had been quite slow till now (reached 50 off 48) again raising the strike rate debate, shifted gears now and played some big shots, eventually getting out at a good enough 76 (59). Pandya, unfortunately, could only get 2 balls to play and India managed 176 runs at the end. Though it was the highest-ever score in a T20 World Cup Final, I was again having bad feelings, as the last time this record was made, it was chased down in the very next innings (Australia against New Zealand in the 2021 T20WC Final).

Klaasen and de Kock had almost taken the team home with their plunderous batting (Photo: The Citizen)

Coming to bowl, Bumrah again drew the first blood dismissing Hendricks. Arshdeep edging out skipper Markram in the very next over left Proteas at 12-2. But, from there on, de Kock and Stubbs carried out a strong counter-attack. After the latter got out, came the dangerous Klaasen, who went on a rampage straightaway along with de Kock. This partnership started turning too dangerous for India as South Africa looked comfortable at 106-3 in the 13th over. Arshdeep trapped de Kock with a planned bouncer and in came Miller. One thing I was confident about was that South Africa might struggle against spinners (especially after watching what happened with England in semis), but as it turned out I was completely wrong. Both Kuldeep and Axar were plundered by  Klaasen and Miller scoring 36 off the last 8 balls bowled by Indian spinners. The equation now stood at 30 needed off 30. Indian shoulders started dropping. Another final had almost slipped out of our hands. At this point, it was South Africa’s game.

The 16th over had to be Bumrah, your best option. And he came with a very tight over giving only 4 of it. South Africa too restrained from taking risks against Bumrah and instead thought of going after others. Somehow, the over reignited hope in the Indian camp. Pandya came with the next over, and as expected Klaasen swung his bat on a wide outside off delivery only to softly nick it to Rishabh Pant. From here, India knew it was back in the game. Only 4 came off this over as well, and Bumrah returned with another fiery over. Jansen (who bats well) was knocked over, and Maharaj was compelled to face Bumrah with Miller choosing to be at the other end to avoid any further risk. Only 2 came off this over. Arshdeep was again brilliant in the penultimate over giving only 4. Miller failing to capitalise even in this over meant Proteas needed 16 in the last over, which had to be bowled by Hardik Pandya.

Hardik Pandya bowled the high-pressure and tough last over and ended India’s trophy drought (Photo: India Today)

Eventually, it had boiled down to Rohit and Hardik, the two names over which a stupid fanbase was fighting like cats and dogs a few months back. On the first delivery, a lower full toss, Miller went for a big one, and it seemed a six for quite some time unless we saw Suryakumar carving the ball out almost past the ropes in a stunner. Miller and South Africa were stunned, and so were we, but we wouldn’t mind, would we? Pandya was spot-on with his remaining deliveries as well. Ultimately,  South Africa needed 9 off the last delivery. As Nortje’s attempt to smash the ball failed and it went for a single, almost the whole nation came down on its feet. I had manifested I would jump and scream with joy, but a different set of emotions ran through my body and I wanted to soak this moment quietly and fully.

The players were down in tears, and no one was able to control their emotions. But these tears were very different from what had come out on November 19 last year. Hardik Pandya, the most trolled, abused and hooted Indian player in recent times, did it for the country. Virat was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ while Bumrah, our national treasure was the ‘Player of the Tournament’. Finally, the last mile, the last hurdle was successfully breached and the team was lifting the trophy it rightfully deserved not just this time, but many of the times in the past when it missed out. The celebrations were not just for the victory of the 2024 T20WC, it was all the celebrations that were due in 2014 T20WC, 2015 CWC, 2016 T20WC, 2017 CT, 2019 CWC, 2021 T20WC, 2021 WTC, 2022 T20WC, 2023 WTC and most importantly 2023 CWC.

Virat and Rohit deserved a World Cup together and they got one eventually (Photo: Hindustan Times)

Farewell for Rohit and Virat

There couldn’t have been a better occasion than this for Rohit and Virat to call it a day in the shortest format of the game. Initially, I too was sceptic about whether Virat should have played this tournament, concerning his age, but in the end, it was all worth it. He tried too hard to keep up his strike rate (listening to commentators) which completely ruined his game. Ultimately, he returned to his own style and there you go! A match-winning knock in the finals. Being India’s top scorer in 4 T20WCs and being ‘Player of the Tournament’ twice, it was a beautiful ending, where the team won it for him when he was perhaps not at his best. Undoubtedly, Virat will go down as a GOAT top-order batter in this format, for the runs he has made across the globe.

Rohit too, will go down as one of the greatest batter and captain to have graced the format. It was a beautiful ending for Rohit too, who missed lifting the trophy a few months earlier. Vice Captain Hardik Pandya will now most likely take over the captaincy of this format. In the other 2 formats, it has been confirmed that Rohit will be leading at least till 2025 WTC (most likely against Australia again) and Champions Trophy (in Pakistan). It has to be seen how the transition will be carried out and who is given the guard. I just hope it remains smooth and there is proper communication with whoever is being given the opportunity.

Rahul Dravid showed a rare display of emotions as he lifted a World Cup trophy for the first time in his life (Photo: NDTV)

The Fairytale Ending for Dravid

Rahul Dravid, anyone has served Indian cricket as much as him. From grooming Under-19 players to working with young cricketers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to now working with the senior team once again. Despite being a legendary batter, Dravid never had the opportunity to lay his hands on a trophy. He missed the opportunity seven months back, but fortunately, he enjoyed the moment this time.

Another pertinent point was under Dravid’s captaincy that India had its worst-ever CWC outing in 2007. The place was Carribean. 17 years later, India has ended its trophy drought winning its second T20WC, and Dravid held the trophy.  The place, once again was the Carribean. The emotions that we saw on Dravid’s face, now you can understand the ‘why’ behind it. I hope now when Dravid, while enjoying his family time, remembers about Barbados, it’s always happy memories.

Some Upsetting Points

Now, there is absolutely no point pointing out errors on such a momentous occasion, but my complaints are on the other front. There is no doubt, that BCCI today, enjoys an unprecedented level of clout in terms of money and influence, as a result, it is enjoying some undue benefits. Firstly, if you noticed almost all teams played some games at 6:30 am (IST) and some at 8pm (IST). But this was not the case with India. This happened because India strategically got all its matches in the morning games (local time) so that the matches are telecasted back in India at 8 pm and more viewership can be garnered.

Secondly, according to proper dating rules, (1st in Group A), 2nd in Group B, 1st in Group C and 2nd in Group D had to form the first group of Super 8. But, as you know India and Australia were in the same group, which couldn’t have been the case as both were no.1 teams in Group A and B respectively. Again, it was done to garner more viewership. Thirdly, only the semifinal played by India didn’t have a reserve day, which meant had the game been abandoned, India would have advanced and England would have been knocked out (which happened eventually though). No, the third case has other reasons too and not just BCCI power, but still it’s a BIG inefficiency that needs to be fixed in the game.

Afghanistan displayed a jubilant performance, defeating Aussies and making it to the semis (Photo: Business Standard)

 

Shout out to Afghans

After the historic win against Australia, Afghanistan eventually stormed into the semis with a thrilling win over Bangladesh. I don’t have any doubt in saying that Afghanistan, currently is the SECOND BEST team in Asia (you know the first). There is something about their spirit and determination that never lets you, not be in awe with them. Though their journey ended with a humiliating loss against South Africa, the team can very well keep its head high. Rashid Khan and his team are the champions.

A team, where cricket reached through refugee camps in Pakistan. A country, which is reeling under the pathetic rule of the Taliban, with little to celebrate under economic and humanitarian crisis. For them, cricket perhaps is the only thing that brings a glitter of hope and a smile to gloomy faces in the Asian nation. In 2023 WC, they made a statement by defeating Pakistan, which deported millions of Afghan refugees. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, they again made a statement by defeating Australia, which refused to play a bilateral series with them. From here, I would just extend my best wishes to the beautiful beautiful team.

Gautam Gambhir is set to be the new head coach of India and I’m optimistic about our team’s fortunes (Photo: Hindustan Times)

Way Ahead for World Champions under ‘Gambhir’ leadership

For the past few years, India has turned into a strong, courageous and resilient team. Winning tests overseas, having a dominant pace attack, and grit and valour to go for wins instead of playing safe — all these have been hallmarks of Indian cricket. In this period, we were coached by Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid. Both played an instrumental role in shaping this new brand of Indian cricket. Now, if reports are to be believed, the team will be helmed by Gautam Gambhir. The massive turnaround by Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL season under Gambhir, definitely made BCCI zero in Gambhir’s name. Along with him, there are also reports of Jonty Rhodes being roped in as fielding coach.

 

 

In my opinion, Gambhir is the best person who can lead us in this phase, where a captaincy transition is also set to happen. I am confident he will end our team’s star culture and prioritise the team and its interests. Those thinking of past fights between Virat and Gambhir are forgetting that the two players are extremely passionate and hungry to make India win and I am optimistic that the two will work very well together.

In the end, I would conclude my Blog by thanking Rohit and his men from the bottom of my heart. I can’t express how happy I am to the fact that the trophy drought ended in my lifetime (Ha Ha) and I just hope and am confident too, that the next trophy won’t be after this much gap, and we might be winning a couple of them in quick succession in the coming years.

 

JAI HIND