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It was the 29th of June in 2024 at the Kensington Oval Stadium in Barbados on a sunny afternoon the last time India and South Africa faced off in the T20 World Cup. India etched its name in history by defeating the Proteas in the final and securing their second T20 World Cup title. It was midnight in India when the firecrackers were unleashed in every city, town and locality as India became World Champions after a 13 year wait.
India were invited to bat first by the Proteas and the top order collapsed in no time. Skipper Rohit Sharma was the first one to depart before Rishabh Pant was shown the exit door by Keshav Maharaj. Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada as India were down to 34/3 in five overs.
Virat Kohli understood the importance of the game and prevented a collapse with a disciplined and exceptional performance in the middle. The Indian icon had a below par build up to the final, but he stood up exactly when India needed him the most. It seemed as if Kohli had saved his best for the last and what a performance it was.
Group A at Super 8 of T20 World Cup 2026
Kohli and Axar Patel stabilized the innings for India and slowly made their way towards a defendable total. Patel was dismissed for 47 (31) in the 14th over before Virat partnered with Shivam Dube to take India to 176/7. He went back to the dugout in the 19th over after scoring 76 (59) in what was his final T20I innings.
India started off strong in the second innings and pushed South Africa on the back foot from the get go. Reeza Handriques and skipper Aiden Markram were cleaned up within the first three overs before Quinton de Cock and Tristan Stubbs formed a 58 run partnership. In came Heinrich Klaasen who almost took the game away from India before Hardik Pandya dismissed him.
The most iconic and match winning moment of the game arrived on the first ball of the 20th over. 16 were needed off the final six when David Miller sent Hardik Pandya’s full toss towards long off and Suryakumar Yadav completed a heroic catch that won India the game. This game will also be remembered for being the last T20I for both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who hung up their boots from the shortest format of the game after the final.
