June 29, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown
India 176-7 (Kohli 76, Patel 47, Maharaj 2-23, Nortje 2-26) South Africa 169-8 (Klaasen 52, de Kock 39, Pandya 3-20, Singh 2-20, Bumrah 2-18)
India won by 7 runs
Toss: India, who elected to bat Officials: Chris Gaffaney, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough
India’s decade-long trophy drought is over as South Africa just failed to chase down their 176 for 7, the highest ever score in a T20 World Cup final.
Heinrich Klaasen’s brutal half century almost took his side home in a tense finale, with good support from Quinton de Kock, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller, but the Indian pacers held their nerve and bowled brilliantly in the last five overs after their spinners had been harshly dealt with, in stark contrast to the semi-final.
With the game nicely poised and South Africa needing 54 from six overs, Klaasen hit Axar Patel, the tormentor of England in that semi-final, for two huge sixes and a four. 24 came off the over, leaving an equation of a run a ball off the last five overs. But back came India. Jasprit Bumrah conceded just four off the 16th, then Hardik Pandya dismissed Klaasen and Bumrah bowled a brilliant 18th over, dismissing Marco Jansen and conceding just two runs, to leave South Africa needing 20 off the last two overs.
An impressively tight 19th over from Arshdeep Singh left 16 needed from the last six balls and David Miller hit the first ball of the 20th up to long off, where Suryakumar Yadav moved to his left, caught the ball, threw it in the air as he overbalanced over the boundary sponge, stepped back onto the field of play and collected the ball to as good as win the game. Five balls later it was all over, with India winning the tournament without losing a game, the first team ever to achieve the feat.
Earlier, South Africa had started well after letting India sprinted to 23 off the first eight balls on what looked like a brilliant batting pitch. Virat Kohli stroked three nerveless boundaries in the first over and Rohit Sharma hit Keshav Maharaj’s first two balls for four but then Rohit swept to square leg and Rishabh Pant top edged to the wicket-keeper for nought. When Sky pulled Kagiso Rabada to Klaasen on the deep square leg boundary, India were 34 for 3 and struggling.
The early wickets allowed Virat Kohli to settle in and, in contrast to his early frenetic innings in the tournament, nudge the ball around in the company of the promoted Axar Patel. Indeed, after hitting his fourth boundary in the fourth over, Kohli did not hit another until the 17th – 37 balls without a boundary –, when he swung Rabada high for six. Axar had made a useful 47 with four maximums and Shivam Dube pressed the accelerator with 27 off 16. Another two fours and a six followed from Kohli as he accelerated past 50, taking his side to the highest ever score in a World Cup final.
The total seemed only par, however, on an excellent Bridgetown track and South Africa, after the early dismissals of Reeza Hendricks, to the extraordinary Bumrah, and skipper Aiden Markram, kept up with the rate through Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs.
India’s spinners found the pitch less to their liking than in the semi-final, the additional bounce meaning the batters could hit cross-batted shots with more confidence. Axar, Kuldeep and Jadeja bowled nine overs, 1 for 106, against the quick bowlers 11 overs, 7 for 58.
When Stubbs and de Kock went, Klaasen took over, taking his time to settle in but the demonstrating his immense, uncomplicated power, going to a 23-ball half-century, the quickest in a T20 World Cup final.
At that point Rishabh Pant went down with what looked like a knee niggle but might well have been a ruse to change the momentum. The very next ball Klaasen edged Pandya through to Pant and the pressure was back on South Africa.
The unplayable Bumrah tightened the noose and Arshdeep and Pandya played their parts, ensuring India could sigh a huge sigh of relief.
South Africa skipper Aiden Markram said: “I am gutted for the time being, it’ll take some time to reflect on a really good campaign. It hurts quite a bit but I am incredibly proud. We bowled well, there was not a lot to work with, and it was a chaseable total. South Africans are competitive, we are respectful and we don’t go down without a fight. It’s still a proud moment for us.”
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma added: “It’s hard to sum up what we’ve been through in last three to four years. It’s not what we did today, it’s what we did before. We’ve had a lot of high-pressure games, and we’ve been on the wrong side of things. Guys understand when the pressure is on what needs to be done, and today was perfect example. We stuck together with our backs to the wall. I’m very proud of the bunch of boys and the management, giving us the liberty to play and that trust.
“No-one was in doubt about Virat’s form, he’s been on top of his game for the last 15 years. Come the occasion, big players stand up. It was crucial to hold that end, for the others to play around him. It wasn’t a wicket to bat freely on. He did that perfectly, all that experience and all those years coming together.”
The player of the match award went to Kohli, who announced his T20I retirement, and preparations will start soon enough for the next T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India in March 2026.
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