India Wins 2024 Men's Cricket #T20WorldCup Finals: A Thrilling Victory!

I have been wondering what can be said about yesterday’s #T20WorldCup Finals between India and South Africa that hasn’t already been said or written. Without overthinking it, let’s start with the obvious:

India Won.. India Won..! ??

• Deservingly, but not convincingly (thank god!). It was as thrilling as it could get. If you didn’t watch the game, I wish I could help you understand the emotions.

• If only emotions could be reflected through data! Well, they were. Check out the Yo-Yo of the Win % Probability chart, which swung from 3% to 100% in India's favor in just 10 minutes during the death overs.

Despite the thrill, it felt like India chose the situations they found themselves in throughout the match!

• When India batted first, South Africa didn’t take India’s wickets; we gave them away! The first three wickets were caught because of the shots we played, then there was a lackluster run-out, and the rest fell during the final overs.

• After the first three wickets fell, South Africa didn’t contain India’s run rate; we played slower than the pitch allowed. India went from 39/3 in 5 overs to 118/4 in 15 overs, scoring only 78 runs in 10 overs, despite having three big hitters yet to come. During these 10 overs, Axar Patel scored 47 runs off 31 balls while Virat Kohli scored 24 runs off 27 balls. India was clearly 15-20 runs short of a match-winning total.

• When South Africa batted, they didn’t give away their wickets; India bowled fantastically well to get them. We saw three clean bowled, two caught behinds, and one game-changing stunner of a catch.

• While India’s spinners were being hit by South Africa and Hardik had overs to spare, we still chose to give Axar Patel the 15th over, which went for 24 runs. This happened when Klaasen was going full throttle and scored 52 runs off 24 balls to take the match away from India.

• Finally, when South Africa needed 30 runs off 30 balls with 6 wickets in hand, Indian fast bowlers won the game with 7 runs to spare! India gave away only 22 runs in the last 5 overs and took 4 wickets. Is this a world record for a big Final?

Axar Patel’s batting did more good, than his 1 over of 24 runs did bad.

• After India lost 3 wickets in the first 5 overs, god knows who in the dressing room said, “let us send Axar Patel to rebuild the innings”, while we had 3 batters waiting to come in. It was a master stroke decision in hindsight (similar to the league match against Pakistan)!

• Axar not only stabilized the innings but also made runs without over-hitting or slogging when Kohli didn’t hit any boundaries for a while. Why did Kohli play so conservatively? Dressing room instructions couldn’t have been to score at less than a run a ball to save the game.

• Axar has been the best find of the tournament for India. He bowls, he bats, and he changes India’s destiny with blinder catches. God has been kind! Grateful!

We #can'tkeepcalm when talking about Jasprit Bumrah, but there is not much to say!

• We cannot stop talking about Bumrah because he dictates the game in every situation, in every condition. His stats and records are unparalleled, and we can go on and on about his contributions to the team.

• But there isn’t much to say either because Bumrah’s brilliance is a mystery! No one knows how he does what he does.

• How does he generate so much uncertainty in a batsman’s mind when he bowls? How does he generate so much speed with such a short and uncanny run-up? How did he achieve the best economy rate and bowling average on such a high-scoring wicket on the biggest stage?

My tribute to the great man: Boom boom brilliant Bumrah does not need ‘pitch & weather conditions’ to perform. His brilliance is supreme!

Big matches need big match players and ‘big moment players’.

• We know the big match players: Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, Pandya. India has won consistently because it is blessed with many ‘Big-Match Players.’

• But India really won when it mattered because it had the ‘Big-Moment Players’.

• SKY’s stupendous catch was the Big Moment in the Finals. Imagine if that shot from David Miller had gone for 6 runs. South Africa would then have needed just 10 runs from 5 balls with Miller on strike. I would have been 80% certain of South Africa winning from there.

• Axar’s blinder catch of Mitch Marsh was the Big Moment in the match against Australia. Imagine if that had been dropped or gone for a six!

• Kuldeep’s googly to bamboozle Maxwell in the match against Australia was another Big Moment after being hit for multiple reverse sweeps.

• Bumrah’s wicket of Rizwan in the match against Pakistan was the Big Moment. Before Rizwan got out at 31 runs off 44 balls, Pakistan needed 40 runs off 36 balls with 7 wickets to spare.

My learning through the Big Moment Plays: Practice doesn’t make you perfect; it makes you ready to ‘Seize the Moments that matter’!

Hardik Pandya – despite ‘ALL that he is NOT’ – is a true match-winner!

• When Hardik Pandya got the last over to bowl, it reminded me of the Bangladesh match last over during Dhoni’s time. I was pretty certain that Hardik had the experience to pull this Finals through, and he did (with monumental support from SKY ??).

• Hardik has been the bad boy of Indian cricket, who we cannot do without. But it’s important to note that ‘on-field Hardik’ has hardly been a problem and is one of the most important all-rounders for the country.

• It is only the off-field Hardik and his antics (Koffee with Karan disaster; moving from GT to MI after winning the title) that have impacted his image and not made him a cricketer worthy of worship in our country.
• Side note: To my mind, the situation he has landed in, because of his decision to move from GT to MI is more nuanced. He fundamentally betrayed a community that runs on trust, loyalty, and ambition – the Gujaratis! Then he moved to MI to succeed ‘the home boy’ (Rohit Sharma) of Maharashtra – who did not deserve to be replaced except for good corporate-like succession planning reasons.

• Hardik’s tournament contributions include taking 11 wickets and scoring close to 150 runs in 8 matches and 6 innings. Nothing short of important!

The legends – Kohli and Rohit (KoRo) win another World Cup for the country and now retire in peace.

• I was distraught when Rohit Sharma got out early this time around. It brought back trauma-memories of Tendulkar getting out early in the 2003 #ODIWorldCup Finals! I would have loved for him to score well and help India put up more than 200 for South Africa to chase!

• And I was equally distraught with how Virat Kohli paced his innings in this Final game. It was opposite to the brand of cricket India played in this tournament, which was to 'dominate with aggression'. But, India still won, and he will always be a Legend of the game!

• It’s a bittersweet moment that both have chosen to retire from T20 International cricket.

• For Rohit, there is not much left for him to achieve in T20 international cricket, but his aggression and form in this tournament indicate that he has a lot left to deliver. Hopefully, he can prolong his fitness and form to play the next ODI World Cup! Fingers crossed

India won not because of the emotions but despite them.

• Rohit Sharma couldn’t sleep the night before the game and then got out early. He must have been even more emotional after the first innings because India was 15-20 runs short of a great total.

• Virat Kohli struggled throughout the tournament and nearly buckled under pressure after loss of early wickets in the Finals. He admitted during the post-match presentation that he wasn’t in his best emotional state, which I found admirably honest.

• Hardik Pandya’s off-field antics had literally had him bullied over the last 3 months. To come out of that mental state and to deliver what he did is nothing short of extraordinary.

• Rishabh Pant was playing his first major international tournament after his accident, and with Sanju Samson breathing down his neck, it wouldn’t have been easy.

• Rahul Dravid had a 'history to forget' at this venue (at the 2007 ODI World Cup), and this was his last job for the country as the national side’s Head Coach, which would have ended without any World Cup win. This, despite two Test Championship Finals, one ODI World Cup Final, and this match. It would have been unfair if he didn't get to witness this win from the dressing room!
• India won despite these emotions!

I have only recently understood the basics of emotional regulation and improving performance mindset, and I wonder how these men carried the responsibility of 1.5 billion cricket fans and their own expectations to pull off an unbeaten tournament win. Add this to the incredible cricket they have played in the last 12 months to be finalists in three ICC cricket tournaments!

Kudos to the Indian Men’s Cricket team! We were the best team in the tournament and thoroughly deserved to be crowned the Champions! South Africa finally broke through their Semi Final jinx, and now have another hurdle to conquer!

And as for me,

• I had an inkling through out that India will make it this time. So, I bought the name-customised Indian fan jersey for my family, and wore it for all games (while watching on TV)

• For the Finals, I watched the game with friends, and booed and cheered the team through the roller-coaster, and finally rejoiced in India's win

• Then, slept like a baby to finally score my perfect 'restoration' score on Fitbit. Never knew satisfaction, happiness and recovery were interlinked!

• Woke-up fully energized, and hit the gym to balance the continuing excitement

and as I finish writing this article, I await the emptiness to kick-in as the adrenaline subsides.. ??

What are your thoughts and emotions about India' #T20WorldCup Win?