ICC T20 World Cup 2024: India Won, Beat South Africa in Final in Barbados, Rohit and Kohli's Last T20 WC

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first to be co-hosted by two regions: the West Indies and the United States of America. Matches were played across the Caribbean — in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines — and in the USA at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, which hosted three Group A matches including India vs Pakistan. India, captained by Rohit Sharma, came into the tournament as one of the strongest T20 sides in the world, with a squad featuring Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. South Africa, captained by Aiden Markram, were the tournament's surprise package — qualifying for their first ICC final in any format at the knockout stages.

India's Campaign and the Final Build-Up

India went through the 2024 T20 World Cup unbeaten across all stages — group stage, Super 8s, semi-finals, and final — one of the few times a side has won a T20 World Cup without losing a match. Their semi-final against England in Guyana was a comfortable victory. South Africa reached their first ICC final in the tournament era, having defeated Afghanistan in their semi-final. The narrative around the final was heightened by two factors: this was expected to be the last T20 World Cup match for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and India's chance to end a period without a global white-ball title (their last ICC ODI World Cup was 2011, T20 WC was 2007 before this tournament).

The Final: India Defend 176, Kohli 76, Last-Over Drama

In the final at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on 29 June 2024, India batted first and scored 176 for 4. Virat Kohli scored 76 from 59 balls — his only significant innings of the tournament, after a relatively quiet campaign, delivered when it mattered most. South Africa chased with controlled aggression: at the start of the final over, they needed 16 runs from 6 balls with David Miller still batting. Hardik Pandya bowled the final over. The last over produced: wide, wicket (Miller caught), a run, wicket, a run, wicket. South Africa finished on 169 for 8 — 7 runs short. Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 18 from 4 overs) and Arshdeep Singh were India's most economical bowlers. India won by 7 runs to claim their second T20 World Cup title and first in 17 years. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from T20 internationals within hours of the win. Hardik Pandya's final over and Bumrah's spell were the decisive bowling contributions.