India's famous
T20 World Cup
triumph in
Barbados
on Saturday also marked the end of
Rahul Dravid
's term as the head coach. Dravid, who has had an illustrious career both as a player and as a coach, was given a memorable farewell by the team in the form of a maiden World Cup trophy of his cricketing career.
WISH TEAM INDIA
Talking to media after the frentic celebrations in Barbados took a small break, Dravid sang praises of skipper
Rohit Sharma
, who incidentally also announced his retirement from T20 internationals.
"I will miss him as a person," said Dravid, who was part of the Indian team that played the 2003 ODI World Cup final but lost to Australia in the summit clash.
"I'll forget the cricket, forget the captain and everything...I think what has really impressed me in all of this is the kind of person he is, the kind of respect he has shown me, the kind of care and commitment he has had for the team, the kind of energy he has had to spend and he has never backed down from it. So for me, I think it's the person (in Rohit) that I will remember the most," he added.
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"He'll be a great captain, he'll be a great player, he'll score runs, he'll win trophies, but I think him as a person is what I will most want to be with," Dravid concluded.
Under Dravid's coaching, India went on to play three ICC trophy finals in the span of a year. The team lost to Australia in the final of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, but was determined to not let it slip at the T20 World Cup.
About the match, India, having chosen to bat first, managed to put up a competitive total of 176 for 7, largely due to Virat Kohli's outstanding innings of 76 off 59 balls, which earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.
Axar Patel's valuable contribution of 47 runs off 31 balls also played a crucial role in India's total.
In response, South Africa suffered two early setbacks but managed to stage an impressive comeback through the efforts of Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) and Quinton de Kock (39 off 31 balls). Their partnership brought the required run rate down to just one run per ball.
However, Hardik Pandya's timely intervention, dismissing the dangerous Klaasen, helped India regain control of the match.
'Player of the Tournament' Jasprit Bumrah's exceptional 18th over, in which he conceded only two runs and picked up a wicket, further tilted the balance in India's favour.
The defining moment of the match came at the start of the 20th over when Suryakumar Yadav took a spectacular catch at the boundary off Pandya's bowling.
Pandya's impressive figures of 3 for 20 proved crucial as South Africa's chase fell short, finishing at 169 for 8, securing a thrilling victory for India.
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