Rohit Sharma‘s team finally captured an ICC title, after years of heartbreak. India’s victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 ended their prolonged drought of major tournament wins. Prior to this, the Men in Blue had twice finished as runners-up in consecutive finals. As cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar noted, the Indian side had frequently faltered in the high-pressure moments of semifinal sand finals at ICC events.

On Saturday, India secured a memorable victory 7-run victory over South Africa and laid their hands on ICC silverware. Virat Kohli delivered a match-winning performance, living up to the team’s expectations. The star batter’s masterful 76 (59) against Aiden Markram’s South Africa at the Kensington Oval paved the way for Rohit’s men to triumph by seven runs.

Batting legend Gavaskar remarked that India’s World Cup victory, particularly their T20 title win in the Caribbean, was akin to the Rahul Dravid-coached side finally scoring a century.

“This victory is a long-awaited victory. India were consistently reaching the semi-finals and finals, like getting stuck in the 90’s and were falling short of scoring centuries. However, they have now achieved that elusive century, and it is a truly remarkable one,” Gavaskar said to the PTI.

Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India became the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup without losing a single game. Rohit is the second Indian skipper, after MS Dhoni, to clinch an ICC T20 World Cup title. In the final, India snapped South Africa’s unbeaten streak in a nail-biting last-over finish. Opener Virat Kohli was named the Player of the Match, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Player of the Tournament award.