virat kohli: T20 World Cup Final: India defend record total to win second T20 World Cup, 17 years after the first

A Virat Kohli masterclass and stellar death bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh saw India seal a final victory against South Africa, who were playing their maiden final across formats. India won the toss and opted to bat first, notching up 176 runs for the loss of seven wickets – a record total for a T20 World Cup final. Rohit Sharma & Co got their hands on the T20 World Cup after a nerve-wracking second innings, with the Proteas looking inches away from victory before Bumrah’s final over saw the South Africans required to chase 20 from the final two overs. With their win in the final, the Indian team is the first to win the World Cup unbeaten. Their opponents in the final also reached the final unbeaten.

The Aiden Markram-led South African team got off to a shaky start, losing their first three wickets in quick succession, before the explosive Heinrich Klassen came out to bat. The middle-order batsman attacked Axar Patel, getting 22 runs off the spinner in the 15th over before being dismissed by Hardik Pandya in the 17th, ending up with 52 runs off 27 balls.

In the first innings, Rohit Sharma’s men lost wickets in quick succession, with Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant both departing cheaply. A rapid-fire innings from Axar Patel, with the bowler registering 47 runs off 31 balls after being bumped up the order to bat at three down.

South African bowler Keshav Maharaj was in fine form, snapping up two wickets and giving away just 23 runs in his spell; Anrich Nortje also grabbed two wickets, while pacer Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took a wicket each.

India were 34 for 3 in the fifth over, eventually recovering to end at 176 – the highest total in a T20 World Cup final – on the back of expensive overs in the final stretch of the innings.Brief scores:
India – 176/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 76, Axar Patel 47; Keshav Maharaj 2/23, Anrich Nortje 2/26)
South Africa – 169/8 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klassen 52, Tristan Stubbs 31; Hardik Pandya 3/20, Jasprit Bumrah 2/18, Arshdeep Singh 2/20)