10 heartwarming moments from Team India's emotion-filled 2024 T20 World Cup victory celebrations
Team India beat South Africa by seven runs in the ICC Men's 2024 T20 World Cup final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday, June 29. The thrilling win ended India's exasperating 11-year-long wait for an ICC title. They last won the Champions Trophy in 2013. Their previous World Cup victory came in India during the ODI edition in 2011.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue recovered from a poor start to put up 176-7. Virat Kohli reserved his best for the final and top-scored with 76 off 59, striking six fours and two sixes. Promoted in the batting order, Axar Patel scored a crucial 47 off 31, while Shivam Dube also chipped in with 27 off 16, hitting a few vital boundaries.
In their chase, South Africa seemed poised to create history, having reached 151-4 after 16 overs. However, Jasprit Bumrah (2-18), Arshdeep Singh (2-20) and Hardik Pandya (3-20) combined to restrict the Proteas to 169-8 as Team India celebrated a win for the ages.
On expected lines, there were some emotional celebrations in the Indian camp after the end of the nail-biting final. There were tears of joy, and a lot of pent up emotions were released.
As the players bask in all the glory of their humungous achievement, here's a compilation of some heartwarming moments from Team India's victory celebrations.
#1 Rohit Sharma is down, but not out this time!
Immediately after the last ball was bowled in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, skipper Rohit Sharma sank to the ground and slammed the turf multiple times with his hand.
Not known as someone who shows a lot of emotion, what transpired on November 19, 2023 had clearly taken a heavy emotional toll on the captain. And hence the reaction. Rohit wanted this win at any cost, and he achieved it.
#2 Virat Kohli shares his joy with his family
Kohli, who was the Player of the Match in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, also got emotional after India's triumph. Later, though, he gathered himself and was seen celebrating the joyous occasion with his family members while interacting on his mobile phone.
#3 Redemption, thy name is Hardik Pandya
Heading into the 2024 T20 World Cup, all-rounder Hardik Pandya had faced a lot of hate for no fault of his.
It was the Mumbai Indians management that had named him as captain, replacing Rohit. Pandya took so much flak that he just couldn't perform in IPL 2024. However, in the Indian jersey, he was back to his best, taking the right route to answer the fanatics. Pointed Proved Pandya!
#4 For Jasprit Bumrah, it's all in the family
Bumrah was outstanding for India right through the 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
Almost every time the team was in trouble, Rohit turned to his lead bowler and he never disappointed. The story was the same in the final, as Bumrah turned the summit clash on its head.
Amid the celebrations, he took time out to share a few precious moments with his presenter wife Sanjana Ganesan and son Angad.
#5 Meet Rahul Dravid - the World Cup winner
One of the biggest legends of the game, Rahul Dravid could never win the World Cup as a player despite his best efforts. But what 'The Wall' couldn't achieve as a player, he did as a coach.
And the wild manner in which the outgoing coach celebrated India’s win only reiterated that he's indeed 'Indiranagar ka gunda'.
#6 Koi Ro-Ko Na...
For Rohit and Kohli, it was the perfect farewell from T20I cricket. The duo was recalled to the Indian T20I team as the management and selectors wanted to utilize their wealth of experience.
Some experts felt that the Men in Blue had gone in the backward direction. But Ro-Ko proved them wrong and lifted India to glory.
#7 Any celebration is incomplete without a Kohli dance
Following India's win in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, the initial reactions were rather sensitive ones.
However, once the realization of what they had achieved began to dawn on them, the players decided to have some fun. Kohli and Arshdeep were at the forefront when it came to the dancing act, grooving to Daler Mehndi’s ever-popular track 'Tunak Tunak'.
#8 That winning feeling
When you suffer setbacks of the kind that Rohit and co. have endured over the last couple of years, it takes some time to process that winning feeling. No wonder the Indian skipper decided to take his own time to soak in the moment before the actual celebrations began.
#9 A promise made, a promise fulfilled
Earlier this year, during an event in Rajkot, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah had promised that Rohit and co. would lift the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy in Barbados.
On June 29, 2024, the promise was fulfilled! And Shah was present to celebrate the huge moment with the Indian team.
#10 Hum Jeet Gaye, Lehra Do
This T20 World Cup win has taken a long time coming. And was followed by some farewells as well. No wonder emotions ran extremely high, as the entire Team India contingent posed for a picture, with the tricolor flying in the background.
This was a much-deserved triumph and one that marked the culmination of years of hard work. The picture says it all - look at The Wall!