2024 T20 World Cup: 3 players who starred and 2 who flopped in the India vs South Africa match ft. Hardik Pandya & Kuldeep Yadav
Team India clinched their second T20 World Cup title, and first since the inaugural edition, as they beat South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling clash in Barbados on Saturday, June 29. Despite the Proteas needing less than a run a ball midway through the 16th over, the Men in Blue came out on top in a historic result.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli signed off from T20Is on a high, with the latter being adjudged the Player of the Match. However, there were others who arguably had a bigger say on the outcome of the contest, both positively and negatively.
On that note, here are three players who starred and two who flopped in the India vs South Africa 2024 T20 World Cup final match.
#5 Star - Axar Patel
Axar Patel's promotion in the batting order has rarely worked in white-ball cricket over the years, but it finally came good in the all-important final against South Africa.
Sent in at No. 5 with India in immense trouble, Axar needed to keep the scoreboard moving. Virat Kohli wasn't batting too fast at the other end, and he needed to take on the opposition bowlers in the middle overs.
Axar did just that, striking one four and four sixes in a crucial knock. And while he couldn't deliver with the ball and was dismissed in timid fashion, he played a vital hand when put under the pump.
#4 Flop - Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav had been one of India's best bowlers at the 2024 T20 World Cup ahead of the final. Expected to play a big role in Barbados, the left-arm wrist-spinner couldn't hit the right lines and lengths.
Kuldeep's performance nearly lost India the game, with his four overs, which were expected to be economical and penetrative, going for 45 runs. He was often too full, and when he pitched it short, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen effortlessly pumped him over the ropes.
#3 Star - Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya finished the 2024 T20 World Cup with valuable contributions in all of India's games, with one of his best displays coming in the final.
Having just one ball to bat and not being used with the ball almost until the halfway mark of the South African innings, Pandya didn't have much time to make an impact. But in the three overs he bowled, he picked up three wickets, including the big ones of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller.
Pandya's spell was almost as important as Bumrah's in the context of the game.
#2 Flop - Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant's stint at No. 3 in the 2024 T20 World Cup ended in disappointing fashion as he top-edged a sweep off left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj to be dismissed for a duck. To make matters worse, he got out off a full toss.
Pant needed to get stuck in and give Virat Kohli some company, but he failed to do so. The manner of his dismissal was hugely disappointing as well.
#1 Star - Jasprit Bumrah
Only one man stood between South Africa and the 2024 T20 World Cup title. With 30 runs needed off 30 balls, Jasprit Bumrah took the ball. And as he does so often, he turned the game on its head.
Bumrah was unplayable in that spell. He bowled Test match lengths and got the ball to reverse, having Miller and Klaasen reluctant to take risks. And in his second over, the ace spearhead castled Marco Jansen with a beauty to reduce the contest to Miller vs India.