Left Arm Around

Dhoni finishes it off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years. The party starts in the dressing room and it’s an Indian captain who’s been absolutely magnificent on the night of the final.

Those who were the almost spine-tingling words of former Indian cricketer turned commentator Ravi Shastri, who couldn’t contain his emotions as India lifted the ODI World Cup in 2011 with a stunning six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Since that historic moment, the nation that treats cricket more like a religion clinched the Champions Trophy with a nail-biting win over England on enemy territory in 2013.

That being said, despite brilliant tournament performances and teams bursting with winners, India has failed to claim another World Cup since that fateful day in April 2011.

But after many heartbreaks at the final hurdle, Rahul Dravid’s men ended their long title hoodoo with a remarkable seven-run victory over a desperately unlucky South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Barbados last Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty nor anything like vintage India, though as the game seemed to slip away and failure appeared to be on the cards, their skill and calmness under intense pressure meant the title was deservedly theirs.

The early wickets of captain Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant rocked the Indian batting line-up as they looked to set an imposing target for the Proteas, but superstar Virat Kohli certainly saved his best until last with a fabulous 76 from 59 balls.

His form came into question with only 75 runs from the previous seven matches, however the 35-year-old accelerated through the gears despite wickets falling around him to ensure his side had a defendable total on a good surface.

All-rounder Axar Patel was also outstanding in smashing 47 from only 31 deliveries, combining with Kohli in a game-changing partnership of 72.

The previously unbeaten South Africa began poorly in pursuit of 177 as Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh removed Hendricks and Markram respectively, yet a strong Proteas middle-order propelled them to the brink of a record-breaking triumph.

An extremely strong spin trio of Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja had simply no answers for the sheer power and skill of Heinrich Klaasen as he almost single-handedly brought the equation down to 30 from 30 balls with a mind-blowing 23-ball fifty- including five towering sixes.

In the modern age of small boundaries, large bats and unbelievable power, 99 times out of 100 the batting side would win needing a run a ball from the final five overs.

But on this special occasion, India had other ideas as they created history of their own in stunning Bridgetown.

First picking up the imperious Klaasen courtesy of an edge off Hardik Pandya (3-20), the magical Jasprit Bumrah returned to suck the life out of a befuddled Proteas line-up as he finished with incredible figures of 2-18 from four overs.

His final two overs at the most pressurised, important end of the innings went for a scarcely believable six runs.

This included a scintillating in-swinger that castled Marco Jansen- South Africa’s last recognised batter at number seven in the order.

Punjab Kings left-armer Arshdeep Singh also delivered excellent accuracy and control throughout to end with brilliant figures of 2/20, including the crucial wicket of an in-form Quinton De Kock.

India’s spinners struggled enormously in contrast to the rest of the tournament, but their fast bowlers were on hand to drag them out of trouble and provide a fairy-tale end to the T20I careers of Kohli, Sharma and Jadeja- all three of which retired from the shortest format after the victory.

Sharma’s place in the XI came into doubt following a lacklustre 2024 IPL campaign, with youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal more than ready to take his spot, though he put any fears to rest with three half-centuries and 257 runs from eight knocks.

His highlight of the World Cup was a blistering 92 from only 41 against a strong Australia attack in St Lucia to secure their qualification for the last four.

Rohit struck 4231 runs with five tons at an average of 32.05 and strike-rate of 140.85 in 159 matches across a sparkling T20I career spanning 17 years.

He is the leading run-scorer in T20I history, meanwhile teammate Kohli sits second with 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 from 125 matches.

Kohli’s glittering international career has seen him win player of the tournament awards at the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, as well as the recent 2023 ODI World Cup.

However, securing the trophy here means Kohli is the first man in history to triumph in the Under 19 World Cup, ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.

He will be looking to add the World Test Championship to his long list of accolades as India next seek to avenge their two previous final defeats in the long form competition.

As for CSK superstar Ravindra Jadeja, he only managed to pick up one wicket across a tournament where he played a bit-part role.

Pandya and Axar were able to provide more all-round value throughout, though one shouldn’t underestimate the balance and infectious energy a virtuoso like Jadeja gives to a team unit.

Forget batting or bowling, Jaddu will be missed for his incredible fielding alone.

When you think of lightning speed, ridiculous catches or athletic boundary saves, who else springs to mind?

As India dawns on a new generation of T20, packed with raw talent and endless possibilities, nobody can deny that these three greats earned the ultimate farewell on the biggest stage of them all!

To whoever who will replace them, good luck filling the void.

Those are damn big shoes to fill…..