A stunning over and a humdinger turnaround: What happened the last time India faced South Africa in the T20 World Cup?
As Ahmedabad gears up for India’s first mega-challenge in the Super Eight of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, echoes of the past still burn bright. The last time these two teams met in the T20 World Cup, it was the grand finale of the 2024 edition. And after too many twists and turns, crash and burns, India prevailed in a nerve-wracking encounter to become the champions of the world.
Before we delve into the cricketing madness, here’s a quick glance at the summit clash of the two teams back in the 2024 T20 World Cup or let’s say when these two forces collided for the last time in the fray.
Winning the toss in Bridgetown, Team India opted to bat first. Virat Kohli, who had a lean patch in the fray, set the tine right from the word ‘go’ itself. India found themselves going all guns blazing without any hesitation. However, the early aggression hit a staggering snag along the way as Rohit Sharma (9), Rishabh Pant (0) and Suryakumar Yadav (3) were gone in no time.
Wobbling at 34/3, Axar Patel joined Virat Kohli in the center and started steadying the ship for Team India. The duo added 72 runs for the fifth wicket with Patel smashing 47 off just 31 balls while Kohli kept things rolling for India. Shivam Dube (27) provided further help to VK as Team India fought their way back.
Kohli eventually fell for 76 from 59 balls while also adding 57 runs alongside Dube. India finished their innings at 176/7 from their allotment of 20 overs. With 177 on the board to be shot down, India found themselves in a solid stance up front.
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh dealt a couple of early strikes to remove Reeza Hendricks (4) and Aiden Markram (4). However, South Africa found their momentum back through Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) as the duo added 58 runs for the third wicket.
Axar Patel came up with a crucial breakthrough getting the better of Stubbs while Arshdeep Singh got hold of QDK. Just when it felt that India had the upper hand, that is when Heinrich Klaasen (52) and David Miller (21) came up with a game-changing stand or at least they thought so.
The duo was motoring along and it never really felt like that India had a chance as the equation was overwhelmingly in favour of the Proteas. However, that is when things flipped around. With 34 needed off 30 balls, Bumrah was summoned to deliver the 16th over and he gunned in with a crucial squeeze as Miller and Klaasen couldn’t break free. Then Rishabh Pant had a bit of a muscle-pull and needed some treatment. There was a brief halt in the game and what followed was inexplicable.
Bumrah applied the brakes in the 16th over and it was Hardik Pandya who converted the pressure into wickets. He got hold of the dangerous Klaasen, the first domino that toppled. From there, South Africa found themselves caught in a storm and the Indian bowlers squeezed the accelerator harder than ever.
Marco Jansen (2), David Miller and Kagiso Rabada (4) were toppled before India was done with their quest. A sensational catch from Suryakumar Yadav took out Miller on the first ball of the last over as India knew they were exactly where they were supposed to be. After much to and fro, the Men in Blue secured a thrilling win by seven runs to lift their second T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli secured the Player of the Match award for his sparkling performance with the bat while Jasprit Bumrah walked away with the Player of the Series award for his haul of 15 wickets and a tournament-defining performance.
