Indian players celebrate the winner’s trophy after defeating South Africa during the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.
Ramon Espinoza/AP
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Ramon Espinosa/AP
The Indian men’s cricket team ended the country’s 13-year drought in global cricket with a narrow victory in the final against South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.
Both India and South Africa remain unbeaten heading into Saturday’s match in Barbados. South Africa looked like they had a chance to win the match but India thwarted the team’s attempt to surpass India by 176 runs.
This is the second time India has won the T20 World Cup; the team won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
“When the pressure is on what needs to be done, everyone understands it,” said India captain Rohit Sharma. “Today was a perfect example of that. [we] Sticking together with their backs against the wall. We wanted this very much…very proud of this group of boys and the management.
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, but many Americans are unfamiliar with it. T20 is the abbreviated form of the game. In T20 matches, each team has 20 overs. In each round, the opposing team’s pitcher (similar to a pitcher) throws six balls for the batter (similar to a batter) to hit. Each time a batsman bats, he makes a “run” which is counted as a score for the team. Two batsmen take part in each round.
“The easiest or probably the hardest way to get a run is to hit the ball as hard as you can to get it over the boundary line, which is the end of the pitch,” Omkar Khandekar, NPR producer in Mumbai, India, told Morning Edition. “If you can do that, then you start running between what they call pitches. The more you run, the more times you run.
India overcome early troubles
Virat Kohli is one of the top batsmen of the team and he played a key role in India’s eventual victory over South Africa. India struggled once they decided to bat first – they scored just 34 runs in the first five overs. This means that in the first session of India’s batting, the team is averaging just about one run per ball.
But Kohli can help improve that average. When India’s batting ended, the score was 176-7, which meant they had batted for 176 runs off 120 balls with seven players out.
Virat Kohli celebrates India’s victory over South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.
Ricardo Mazaran/AP
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Ricardo Mazaran/AP
Kohli announced at the end of the game that this would be his last T20 World Cup.
“This is my last T20 World Cup and that’s what we want to achieve,” Kohli said. “I got the job done for the team on a big day. Now it’s time for the next generation to take over and some great players will lead the team forward and keep the flag flying high.
Kohli performed brilliantly in his last game, scoring what is known in cricket circles as a “half-century”, when a batsman scores 50 runs in the time his team bats.
South Africa’s Tabrez Shamsi (left) after South Africa’s loss to India during the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday reacted.
Ricardo Mazaran/AP
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When South Africa batted, the team looked strong: they scored 147 runs in 15 overs, thanks in part to Heinrich Klaasen. But once he was out, the team began to falter: Marco Jansen scored just two runs before India bowler Jasprit Bumrah bowled a ball that led to the out .
Bumrah was named ‘Man of the Tournament’ for his hard-to-hit bowling style.
David Miller scored 21 off 17 balls for South Africa, but a stunning catch from India’s Suryakumar Yadav saw Miller withdraw in the final over of the match ended the match and South Africa’s remaining batsmen were unable to score the remaining runs. In the end, South Africa trailed by just seven points.
This is the first time that a South African team has reached the final of an international cricket match.
“Devastated,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. “Hurtful but incredibly proud. We never got comfortable and things happened quickly on the back end, but we were in a good position and proved we were worthy finalists.
