When Rohit and Team India Ended Their Trophy Drought One-Month Back

India team celebrating T20 WC triumph [X] India team celebrating T20 WC triumph [X]

Exactly one month ago, Rohit Sharma's Team India ended their trophy drought and won the T20 World Cup 2024 by the barest of margins.

A match that was won from the jaws of defeat, India showed grit, and determination to outclass South Africa in the finals in Barbados.

Kohli, Axar save India's blushes with the bat

Rohit Sharma was in the form of his life heading into the finals. He had played two blinders in the tournament (Vs AUS, and ENG), but failed to replicate the same form in the finals and was dismissed for just 9.

It was Virat Kohli, who started the innings with aggression, smacking three boundaries against Marco Jansen. However, from the other end, India lost two crucial wickets of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav as India were tottering at 34/3.

Rohit and then India head coach, Rahul Dravid played a punt and sent in Axar Patel at number 5 to counter the bowlers. The all-rounder justified his promotion with a match-winning 31-ball 47. Kohli, who struggled throughout the World Cup, brought his best and scored a crucial 76 as India posted 176/7.


IND bowler bring the cup back to India

In reply, South Africa lost a couple of early wickets, as Jasprit Bumrah started to weave his magic. Just like India, the Proteas also lost the plot in the early burst and were 12/2 at one stage.

However, useful contributions from Tristan Stubbs and Quinton de Kock brought the South Africans back in the contest. When de Kock threw his wicket away, India could smell the victory, but their hopes was almost dashed when Heinrich Klaasen unlocked his beast mode and teared away the Indian bowlers with ease.

He took a special liking towards the spinners as South Africa were on the verge of their maiden ICC title win. At one stage, the equation was 28 runs off 28 balls. But this is when Bumrah came to life and bowled a couple of tight overs to put the pressure back on the Proteas.

The icing on the cake was Suryakumar Yadav's catch to dismiss David Miller, which virtually sealed the title for India. The emotions were sky-high, as Rohit Sharma took T20I retirement alongside Virat Kohli, and he became just the third captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to win a World Cup.