by Ben Ayuko
{image by Reuters}
India was crowned world champions after beating South Africa in the ICC (International Cricket Council) Twenty20 world cup final.
India was looking to reclaim some pride after losing the ODI series to Australia in front of their home crowd earlier this year. The Indian team came up against an inspired South African side who had just come from demolishing Afghanistan in the semi-final, limiting them to just 56 runs in total. The game was always going to be won by whoever wanted and the India side definitely showed its intent by beating England, the defending champions, in the semi-final by a mammoth 68 runs. This was promising to be an epic clash.
And it was. It was a tense finale as South Africa found themselves needing at least 2 boundaries from 2 balls. Kagiso Rabada, the batsman, had no choice but to throw caution to the wind. Go big or go home, as they say. Unfortunately, he didn’t go big enough as his attempt to knock one over the line fell just short, right into the hands of an Indian fielder. India emerged victorious but only by a mere 7 runs. They definitely earned their victory after battling a worthy adversary.
Virat Kohli was voted the MvP (most valuable player) finishing the game with 76 runs from 58 balls.
Jasprit Bumrah capped the final game by winning the Player of the Tournament award, no doubt because of his proficiency at bowling.
The fans may have been disappointed by how the ODI series ended, but at least they were afforded some sort of redemption for the mishap in the Twenty20.