India’s Virat Kohli (left) and captain Rohit Sharma celebrate with the trophy in hand after their win over South Africa in the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Fans in blue India jerseys cried tears of joy and danced on tables in a New Delhi sports bar on Saturday after Rohit Sharma’s India beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup, ending a world title drought.
India won a thrilling final in Barbados by seven runs to clinch their first major title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India last won the World Cup in 2011 at a domestic tournament under coach MS Dhoni, who also led India to victory in the inaugural edition in 2007.
Star batsman Virat Kohli produced a historic 76 off 59 balls to guide India to 176-7, before the Indian bowlers defended the total by restricting the Proteas to 169-8.
“It feels out of this world,” said Abhishek Bhagat, a 34-year-old software professional visiting Delhi from Belgium.
AFP from outside a sports bar.
“I experienced this as a kid in 2007, then I experienced it again in 2011, and now I’ll be experiencing it again in 2024. It’s been such a long wait, but words can’t describe how much fun we’re going to have.”
The 35-year-old Kohli announced his retirement from international T20 matches during his man-of-the-match speech at the awards ceremony.
“It’s been an open secret. It’s time for the next generation to take over. We have great players who will take the team forward and keep the flag flying high,” he said.
“King Kohli is a player who steps up when it matters,” Bhagat said.
Another fan, Rajneesh Duggal, said: “A proud moment for every Indian. A fitting end for outgoing coach Rahul Dravid and Kohli. Hope Rohit stays.”
Rohit also subsequently announced his retirement. He leaves the format as the tournament’s highest ever run-scorer with 4,231 runs in T20 internationals. Kohli is second with 4,188 runs.
Rohit has an unmatched record of five centuries in T20 internationals and he has also won the T20 World Cup twice – the inaugural tournament in 2007 as a player and now in 2024 as captain.
“This was my last (T20I) match as well. There couldn’t be a better time to say goodbye to this format,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference.
Hundreds of fans took to the streets and passed the iconic India Gate shouting “Long Live India” slogans from cars and motorbikes.
India have been eliminated in the knockout stages of the International Cricket Council (ICC) event despite being ranked first in both T20s and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and second in Test matches.
Rohit and his team came very close to winning the One-Day ICC World Cup held in the country last year but lost to Australia in the final played in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket stadium.
However, the team maintained their composure in a close final, with pace bowler Hardik Pandya defending just 16 in the final over.
South Africa, playing in their first ever World Cup final, needed 30 runs from the final five overs and appeared to be close to achieving the target but the Indian bowlers denied them.
Emotional scenes ensued, with fans hugging each other in sports bars, dancing on tables and running into the streets at midnight to celebrate.
News channels on Saturday repeatedly aired footage of fans performing Hindu fire rituals and praying to gods for victory against South Africa.
One article carried a picture of Rohit, who scored three fifties in the tournament, holding the World Cup trophy and adorned with garlands.
India remained unbeaten in the tournament, defeating defending champions England in the semi-final in Guyana.
