South Africa crumbles again! India clinches T20 World Cup in dramatic final

In a stunt straight out of an M. Night Shyamalan film, South Africa pulled off a stunning upset against India in the T20 World Cup 2024 final on Saturday.

It appears that the Proteas always manage to trip over their feet right before the finish line. Their tale of near-misses on the international scene, which dates back to 1996 when they were defeated by the West Indies in the World Cup quarterfinals, gains a new chapter with their defeat to India.

The Art of Losing: Why the Proteas Choke in the Cricket World Cup is a book that uses interviews to reenact the matches the team has lost when it matters most.

Even so, on Saturday, as Heinrich Klaasen launched a blitzkrieg that seemed capable of destroying the Indian playbook, dreams of South Africa's historic first-ever World Cup triumph had to have flickered through the team's and its supporters' imaginations.

With five sixes in his 52 off 27 balls, Klaasen had India's bowlers scratching their heads and the crowd grabbing for their blood pressure medication. The atmosphere at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, was electric with anticipation as Klaasen appeared ready to bring cricket glory to South Africa, a long-overdue moment.

It's likely that an updated version of the book will include a new chapter on how the cookie crumbled.

Thanks to a magnificent yorker from Hardik Pandya, Klaasen was dismissed, setting off a collapse that would have made a house of cards appear structurally strong. In the last four overs, the Proteas lost five wickets for just twenty-seven runs, leaving their supporters startled into silence.

India, meanwhile, capitalized on Virat Kohli's masterclass, scoring 76 off 59 balls to demonstrate that even the all-time great can pick up new skills.

Kohli picked the ideal time to explode back into form. The best was reserved for last by him. His innings served as a reminder of why he is regarded as one of the best players to have ever played the game, combining traditional stroke play with cutting-edge T20 invention.

The match was an emotional rollercoaster, full of unexpected turns and turns. The early batting meltdown by India, which saw the fast departures of Suryakumar Yadav (3), Rohit Sharma (9), and Rishabh Pant (0), had fans in a frenzy.

The 72-run partnership between Kohli and Axar Patel calmed the ship and demonstrated that, in life as well as cricket, it's not about how you start but how you end that matters.

Axar's 47-run out after a misunderstanding with Kohli brought a note of tragicomedy to the proceedings. With a late flourish of 34 off 24, Shivam Dube gave India a competitive total of 176/7.

This amount ultimately turned out to be sufficient as India managed to win by seven runs. While South Africa contributed another chapter to their book of near-misses, the Men in Blue put an end to their 11-year trophy drought.

When it mattered most, the Indian bowling attack—led by the reliable Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) and the exciting Arshdeep Singh (2/20)—held their composure and choked the South African chase in the last overs. And then there came Suryakumar Yadav's catch.

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