NEW DELHI:
Rahul Dravid
ended his stint with
Team India
on a triumphant note as captain
Rohit Sharma
and his boys gave the head coach a brilliant farewell gift by winning the T20 World Cup, which not only marks the end of Dravid's tenure but also adds a World Cup triumph to his decorated career in cricket, albeit not as a player.
Dravid was part of the Indian team that entered the 2003 ODI World Cup final, but lost to Australia.
WISH TEAM INDIA ON WINNING T20 WORLD CUP
On Saturday in Barbados, India came back from the dead to beat South Africa by 7 runs in a pulsating finish to the title match.
After opting to bat first, India put up 176 for 7 on the board, thanks to Virat Kohli's best knock of the tournament -- a 59-ball 76. He was well assisted by allrounder Axar Patel's 47 in 31 balls.
South Africa lost two early wickets in their run-chase but fashioned a brilliant recovery through Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) and
Quinton de Kock
(39 off 31 balls) to take the equation to a run a ball required to win.
But Hardik Pandya struck to take the dangerous Klaasen out of the equation as India clawed back into the game.
It was then Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 18) in the 18th over that once again made the difference as he gave away just two runs and took a wicket. But the game-changing moment was perhaps the stunning catch at the edge of the boundary by
Suryakumar Yadav
off Pandya to begin the 20th over that tilted the scales in India's favour decisively.
Pandya, who took 3 for 20, once again turned out to be a hero with the ball.
The victory was followed by emotional scenes on the ground, with every player of the squad and coach Dravid in tears.
This was India's third appearance in an ICC final under Dravid in an year, after losing the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final to Australia last year.
There couldn't have been a better way for it to end for India's forever 'Mr Dependable' and 'The Wall'.
English (US) ·