India Wins 3rd T20 World Cup Trophy; vanquishes South Africans in Thriller Final

After an enthralling Final Encounter that redefines nail-biting, plucky India triumphed over a solid South Africa by 7 runs to win their first ICC World Cup title in the past 13 years.

Spectators at the Kensington Oval Barbados were treated to an absolutely spectacular contest.

Both sides seemed on top of their games with a tremendous all-round performance from Team India to lift the title. India came into the match unbeaten in the tournament, with display of bowling prowess. South Africa was in blistering form, also unbeaten and having won all of their matches in both of the group stages.

The Indian innings started off a bit jittery with 3 quick wickets, but Kohli played a anchoring knock (76) to take the Indian total to 176 / 7 with vital support from Shivam Dubey and Axar Patel. Among the South African bowling, Andre Nortje stood out with an economical 2-26 in his 4 over spell.  

South Africa seemed to be headed to an assured victory with a dominant performance from Klaasen and some good batting at the top from de Kock, until a mini-collapse in the death overs spurred by tight bowling from Bumrah and Hardik Pandya that swung the game in favour of India. Pandya took 3 crucial wickets conceding only 20 runs in 3 overs. Newbie Arshdeep also sparkled with a very economical spell (4-0-20-2) that mounted the pressure on the Proteas.

The Man of the Match was officially awarded to Virat Kohli, a subliminal match winning innings, and a befitting tribute to a legend in the game. Kohli also surprised fans by announcing his retirement from International T20 cricket. After a disastrous tournament with several critics questioning his fitness and form, Kohli picked the perfect occasion to prove his mettle and bring truth to the old adage that form is temporary, class is permanent.

Scenes of jubilation all across India as this victory is especially significant in light of the loss suffered by India in the semi-finals of the last T20 World Cup, and the crushing defeat at the hands of Australia in the 50 over World Cup Final hosted in Ahmedabad in November of last year. The excitement and sheer joy of Head Coach Rahul Dravid and the Squad, and Staff was also uncontainable with several stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja expressing how much this victory means for the team, and indeed all of the country.