In the summit match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, India defeated South Africa by seven runs to snap their 11-year drought for an ICC title. On this final day as the Indian team’s head coach, 51-year-old Rahul Dravid said goodbye with a bang.
The Men in Blue became just the third country to win the T20 World Cup twice on Saturday, June 29, making it a red-letter day in Indian cricket history.
After Ravi Shastri resigned from the esteemed post following the 2021 T20 World Cup, Dravid assumed the role of head coach for India. India advanced to the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinals, the 2023 World Test Champions and ODI World Cup finals, and the World Test Champions final during Dravid’s leadership. But the giants of Asia were unable to cross the line. But on Saturday, after 17 years, India won the T20 World Cup, changing all of this.
Also read: After the win in the T20 World Cup, India captain Rohit Sharma announces his retirement from the T20I format, jumping on the bandwagon of Virat Kohli
Indian players hoisted and threw Dravid in the air following the thrilling victory. The former captain of India, who won numerous matches while playing for his country but never won a World Cup, found himself overcome with emotion during the event. The Indian players expressed their appreciation and acknowledged the services of the Indore-born coach as he made his way out. It was a fitting departure.
The legendary team of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma declared their retirement from the game’s shortest format at the same time that Dravid stepped down as India’s head coach.
On Saturday, India chose to bat first after winning the toss. Kohli and Axar Patel steadied the ship with a 72-run partnership off 54 balls after losing three wickets for 34 runs during the powerplay. India concluded their 20 overs at 176/7 thanks to top scorer Kohli’s 59-ball 76 and Axar’s 47 off 31 balls.
Before Heinrich Klaasen’s 27-ball 52 turned the tide decisively in their favour, Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs played excellent innings to put the Proteas in a great position. South Africa had six wickets in the bank and at one point needed to score 26 runs off 24 balls. But because to some outstanding death bowling, the Asian heavyweights were able to limit their opponents to 169/8 and win by seven runs.
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