Following his victory in the T20 World Cup and his announcement of retirement from T20I cricket, Indian captain Rohit Sharma consumed sand from the Kensington Oval pitch in Barbados. Rohit, with 4,231 runs in 159 matches, is the highest run-scorer in the format. He also holds the record for the most centuries (five) in T20 internationals. Rohit has won two T20 World Cups: the first in 2007 as a player and the recent one in 2024 as captain. In a video posted on the ICC's official Instagram account, Rohit was seen fully immersing himself in his final T20I match, even ingesting the soil of the Barbados pitch.
Shortly after Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is, Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, clasped Kohli's hands and said farewell to the shortest format of cricket. Summarizing the tournament's final match, India chose to bat first after winning the toss. Despite a shaky start at 34/3, a robust partnership between Virat (76) and Axar Patel (47 off 31 balls, including one four and four sixes) for 72 runs stabilized India's position. A subsequent 57-run partnership between Virat and Shivam Dube (27 off 16 balls, with three fours and a six) propelled India to 176/7 in their 20 overs. Keshav Maharaj (2/23) and Anrich Nortje (2/26) were South Africa's leading bowlers, while Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram each took a wicket.
In the chase for 177 runs, South Africa was initially reduced to 12/2, but a 58-run partnership between Quinton de Kock (39 off 31 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Tristan Stubbs (31 off 21 balls, including three fours and a six) revived their chances. A half-century by Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls, with two fours and five sixes) looked set to snatch victory from India. However, Arshdeep Singh (2/18), Jasprit Bumrah (2/20), and Hardik (3/20) staged a remarkable comeback in the death overs, restricting South Africa to 169/8 in their 20 overs. Virat was awarded 'Player of the Match' for his outstanding performance. By clinching their first ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy, India has broken their ICC trophy drought.
