During India’s triumphant procession in Mumbai, Virat Kohli praised the 30-year-old for his consistent ability to steal extra life for the team throughout the tournament. In a thrilling victory over South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29, Team India captured the coveted T20 World Cup 2024. At one point, the Proteas needed just 30 runs in as many balls, and India was unable to stop Heinrich Klaasen’s attack despite scoring 176 runs. The Indian pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya produced their best work to date in the final five overs.
Specifically, Bumrah let up just five runs in two overs bowled at death. He gave up just four wickets in the 16th over while bowling on strike against David Miller and Klaasen. Pandya took wicket of Klaasen in the next over, conceding just four runs. The Indian pacer cleaned up Marco Jansen in the 18th over, allowing just one run to be scored.
“Like everyone else in the stadium, we thought for a while that it may slip away once more, but what transpired in those final five overs was incredibly, incredibly remarkable. What I want to see done, everybody, is to give a big round of applause to a guy who has kept us in games these entire tournament. It was amazing what he accomplished in the final five overs, bowling two of those overs. Jasprit Bumrah deserves a massive round of applause, please,” remarked Kohli, as cited by ESPNcricinfo.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended the stadium: Virat Kohli
The Indian team’s journey home was delayed by a hurricane in Barbados, thus they had to wait an additional two days after collecting the prized trophy. On July 4, they finally arrived in Delhi and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi right away. Late in the evening, they landed in Mumbai and took part in the triumph procession. Virat Kohli hailed the supporters for their kind reception and emphasised the unpredictable that made for a difficult comeback.
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“A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended the stadium. I will always be reminded of what we witnessed on the streets tonight. It has been an exhilarating ride over the past four days. We wanted to leave Barbados as soon as possible, return to India, and celebrate our victory with everyone. It was a bit of an anti-climax as we were stranded in the hurricane. However, since our return, everything has been fantastic,” he continued.