The T20 cup of joy and glory
The triumph in Barbados coincides with the exit of two game greats and coach Rahul Dravid. The rebuilding of the team must start now
The monkey is off India’s back. The country with the biggest, richest and glitziest T20 league in the world has finally (re)laid hands on the World Cup of the same format.
India’s dramatic seven-run victory over South Africa in Barbados on Saturday handed them the 2024 T20 World Cup, 17 years after they won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, 13 years after they won a World Cup in any format, and 11 years after they brought home the winners’ trophy from an ICC event, the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.
India under coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma were third-time lucky. The pair took India to the final of the World Test Championships two years in a row, but India lost to Australia in England. The pair had taken India to the final of the World Cup of the ODI format only seven months back. India lost that too to Australia, in Ahmedabad. A loss in Barbados on Saturday, which at some points during the match looked a certainty, would have attracted the label “chokers”.
Instead, after having reduced the equation to 30 runs needed off 30 balls with six wickets in hand, South Africa did something only they could – choke. From India’s point of view, it was Jasprit Bumrah arguably the best bowler in the format, doing what he repeatedly did for India throughout the tournament – get the breakthroughs. While Virat Kohli was named Player of the Final for his 76 off 59 balls, Bumrah was adjudged Player of the World Cup for his 15 wickets at an economy rate of 4.17 per over, the best by any bowler in a T20 World Cup.
The triumph was also the final T20 International for both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and the end of coach Rahul Dravid’s tenure. Gautam Gambhir is set to take over as India coach next and his immediate job will be to find players who can fill these huge shoes. Yashasvi Jaiswal was part of India’s winning squad but did not get to play a match. The search can start from there. The Champions Trophy in Pakistan in 2025 will be this team’s next multi-nation assignment. By then, one would assume India would have filled the void. But it is also important to remember that the game itself is evolving. By then, chances are, the role of a sheet anchor in T20 cricket — one where a batter plays throughout the innings accumulating runs as others bat around him — will be gone from the shortest format of the game.
The monkey is off India’s back. The country with the biggest, richest and glitziest T20 league in the world has finally (re)laid hands on the World Cup of the same format.
India’s dramatic seven-run victory over South Africa in Barbados on Saturday handed them the 2024 T20 World Cup, 17 years after they won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, 13 years after they won a World Cup in any format, and 11 years after they brought home the winners’ trophy from an ICC event, the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.
India under coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma were third-time lucky. The pair took India to the final of the World Test Championships two years in a row, but India lost to Australia in England. The pair had taken India to the final of the World Cup of the ODI format only seven months back. India lost that too to Australia, in Ahmedabad. A loss in Barbados on Saturday, which at some points during the match looked a certainty, would have attracted the label “chokers”.
Instead, after having reduced the equation to 30 runs needed off 30 balls with six wickets in hand, South Africa did something only they could – choke. From India’s point of view, it was Jasprit Bumrah arguably the best bowler in the format, doing what he repeatedly did for India throughout the tournament – get the breakthroughs. While Virat Kohli was named Player of the Final for his 76 off 59 balls, Bumrah was adjudged Player of the World Cup for his 15 wickets at an economy rate of 4.17 per over, the best by any bowler in a T20 World Cup.
The triumph was also the final T20 International for both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and the end of coach Rahul Dravid’s tenure. Gautam Gambhir is set to take over as India coach next and his immediate job will be to find players who can fill these huge shoes. Yashasvi Jaiswal was part of India’s winning squad but did not get to play a match. The search can start from there. The Champions Trophy in Pakistan in 2025 will be this team’s next multi-nation assignment. By then, one would assume India would have filled the void. But it is also important to remember that the game itself is evolving. By then, chances are, the role of a sheet anchor in T20 cricket — one where a batter plays throughout the innings accumulating runs as others bat around him — will be gone from the shortest format of the game.