India held its nerve in a crunch situation to defeat South Africa by 7 runs in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday and be crowned world champions in the shortest format for the second time.
The Men in Blue thus, ended an agonising 11-year wait for an ICC trophy after having fallen narrowly short in several events across formats along the way, finishing runners-up in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup along with both World Test Championship finals.
Virat Kohli led the way for the Men in Blue after skipper Rohit Sharma opted to bat, bouncing back to form with a knock of 76 off 59 balls and was well supported by Axar Patel (47) and Shivam Dube (27) as India posted a competitive 176/7 on the board.
South Africa, in reply, were cruising at 151/4 after 16 overs thanks to Heinrich Klaasen’s blazing 23-ball fifty along with handy contributions from Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31), and were staring at a historic maiden World Cup victory needing just 26 more to win off 24 balls.
The pace trio of Hardik Pandya (3/20), Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) and Arshdeep Singh (2/20), however, pulled things back in style for the Men in Blue in the last four overs of the contest with Pandya bowling a heroic final over to help India pull off a dramatic seven-run victory at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Both Kohli and Bumrah would later be felicitated in the post-match presentation ceremony, one specifically for his match-winning contribution in the final and the other for a superb run throughout the tournament.
Here’s a full list of awards distributed in the presentation ceremony after the 2024 T20 World Cup final along their recipients:
Player of the Tournament: Jasprit Bumrah (15 wickets; average: 8.26; economy: 4.17)
Player of the Final: Virat Kohli (76 off 59 balls)
Smart Catch of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav
Most runs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281)
Highest score: Nicholas Pooran (98 against Afghanistan)
Highest strike-rate: Shai Hope (187.71)
Most fifties: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rohit Sharma (3)
Most wickets: Fazalhaq Farooqi (17)
Best bowling figures: Fazalhaq Farooqi (5/9)
Most sixes: Nicholas Pooran (17 sixes)
Most catches: Aiden Markram (8 catches)
Most dismissals by a wicketkeeper: Rishabh Pant (14 dismissals)