Image Credit- AFP
India pulled off one of their greatest heists to finally win a World Cup, as Suryakumar Yadav stole a boundary catch for the ages, Jasprit Bumrah snuck in two electrifying final overs, and Hardik Pandya pilfered the two vital wickets.
Although Virat Kohli’s 76 off 59 will make headlines, there were moments when this knock felt forced.
Kohli faced 35 balls between the fourth and the eighteenth over, scoring 29 runs without hitting a boundary. Having batted for the majority of that time in ODI middle-overs mode, he had used up 48 deliveries when he reached fifty and did not lift his bat.
But there is a compelling counterargument. When Suryakumar Yadav, the third wicket, fell in the fifth over, Kohli was 22 off 16. Additionally, the security he provided at one end made it possible for Shivam Dube and Axar (who raised order No. 5) to succeed with their hard-hitting.
His stands with those batters reaped 72 off 54 (Axar hit 47 off 31) and 57 off 33 (Dube hit 22 off 13), and formed the heft of India’s innings. Their 176 for 7 was the most any team has scored in a World Cup final.
Five overs remained, and South Africa was dominating. With a barrage of sixes, one of the greatest hitters in history, Heinrich Klaasen, might end decades of agonising big-match history for his team. With six wickets remaining, South Africa just needed to score one run every ball over the final 30 balls after he and David Miller had combined for 38 runs in the previous two overs.
Rather than saving Bumrah for later overs, Rohit Sharma was compelled to use the world’s best bowler. The hitters never dared to take on Bumrah, thus the alliance wasn’t entirely broken. He did, however, shorten Miller’s and Klaasen’s stride. Only four runs were scrambled off that over by them.
However, the turning point arrived at the onset of the 17th over. Following a further slowdown in the game as a result of Rishabh Pant’s apparent knee issue, Hardik bowled a wide line outside off and took Klaasen’s edge, with Pant happily seizing the opportunity.
Miller was there, albeit he was unable to grab a boundary off the last portion.
After that, Bumrah returned and, in the final over of yet another competition that he had dominated, bowled several ripsnorters. Marco Jansen, the final recognised batter from South Africa, was caught off guard when he was hit by one of those miraculous balls, a vicious in-seamer, which grazed leg stump.
For the first time since the early overs of the chase, South Africa were in difficulty with Keshav Maharaj occupying the middle position and their batting line-up noticeably short with 20 needed off 12 balls. In the 19th over, Arshdeep Singh bowled with such nervelessness that South Africa could produce only four runs.
Then came the blow that killed dreams. 16 runs were required off the last over, which Hardik bowled. Miller attempted to lift the first ball over the straight boundary with a wide full toss. However, his connection was not great, and Suryakumar, with his feet barely centimetres inside the rope, ran full power along it, collected the ball, popped it up as he briefly stepped over the boundary, and then finished the running catch as he jumped back into the field, causing a flurry of excitement in the spectators.
All of the South African batters, except for one outside edge that went for four, were unable to get Hardik out of the game.
The bowler went to his knees in relief, his teammates celebrated, and the mostly Indian crowd went wild as Hardik India sealed the seven-run victory. After thirteen years, their squad had won the world championship once more.