The Indian team lived up to their top billing as they produced a brilliant fightback in the closing stages to defeat South Africa by seven runs in the final to win their second T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday, June 29, 2024.
The Indian team, packed with IPL superstars, had been firing blank for the last 17 years. Ever since winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, India had come close a few times in World Cups but had always failed to land the knockout blow.
IPL is the most popular T20 league in the world and has been credited for the growth of Indian cricket in the last decade, leaving many wondering why Men in Blue haven't won more World titles in the shortest format.
Believe it or not, this is the first T20 World Cup won by India since the launch of the IPL in 2008 -- after 16 seasons of the T20 league.
This year too, India were among the favourites, and they dominated the entire T20 World Cup, becoming the first team to win the tournament without losing a single match.
It is clear that the experience of playing in the IPL ahead of the T20 World Cup served as a key preparation for the Indians. The top performers in IPL 2024 were all rewarded a World Cup call-up but you will be surprised to know that champions Kolkata Knight Riders didn't have a single player in the winning Indian team.
In another bizarre fact, Mumbai Indians, who finished bottom in the 10 team IPL 2024, had the most players (4) in the playing XI of the Indian team which played in the World Cup final.
Two of KKR's stars missed out narrowly in Rinku Singh, who was named among the travelling reserves, while spin ace Varun Chakravarthy -- the most successful spinner and second highest-wicket taker in IPL 2024 with 21 wickets in 15 games -- was ignored.
IPL's most successful team Mumbai Indians have always been known as a team which has discovered young players and turned them into big stars, who have gone on to play for India.
There is a feeling that the route to the Indian team is much easier through performances for big teams like MI or CSK than grinding for a few years in domestic cricket.
It has turned out to be an strange conundrum for MI, who replaced Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as their captain for IPL 2024. While MI struggled under Pandya's leadership with four wins from 14 games to finish last, Rohit has now made the decision look even worse by leading India to their second T20 World Cup title, exactly a month and three days after IPL 2024 ended.
Pandya, who was subject to a lot of jeering and boos during the IPL, has become a huge fan favourite courtesy of his superb performances for India in the World Cup. He was the game-changer with the ball for India, taking the key wicket of the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen (52 from 27 balls) at a crucial juncture in the run chase before he dismissed David Miller in the last over.
Miller fell to a superb catch by Suryakumar Yadav at long off in the final over, with many terming it as the turning point of a thrilling final.
Pandya was India's most successful bowler in the final, taking 3/20 in three overs, as he finished with 11 wickets in the World Cup, while scoring 144 runs at a strike rate of 151.
His MI team-mate Suryakumar, who hit a vital 47 in the semi-final against England, amassed 199 runs in eight games, with two half-centuries.
MI pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah was named the Player of the World Cup for his incredible bowling throughout the competition.
His World Cup numbers are amazing, picking up 15 wickets in 29.4 overs sent down during the tournament at an economy rate of 4.17.
He took 2/18 in four overs in the final, including a tight two-over spell at the end, taking 1/6 in 12 balls bowled.
Delhi Capitals, who failed to make it to the play-offs after finishing sixth, had three cricketers in the team.
Axar Patel made a decision contribution in the final with a quickfire 47 from 31 balls, adding 72 runs for the fourth wicket with Virat Kohli to rescue India after a horror start.
DC's Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant also made important contributions in the earlier games of the World Cup.
Despite not playing in the group stages, Kuldeep was India's top spinner in the World Cup with 10 wickets in five matches, while Pant stroked 171 runs in eight games and was reliable with the gloves, taking 13 catches and a stumping.
CSK's all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube didn't enjoy a good World Cup. While Jadeja managed just one wicket in eight games, Dube struggled for 133 runs at a strike rate of 114 with a highest of 34.
RCB talisman Virat Kohli, who proved to be unstoppable with the bat in IPL 2024 with 741 runs in 15 games, struggled throughout the World Cup before he came good when it really mattered. He top scored for India in the final against South Africa, hitting 76 from 59 balls to guide them to 176/7 in their 20 overs. Though Kohli's slow approach in the middle overs raised a few eye brows he made up for it at the end with a flurry of boundaries.
Punjab Kings' pace ace Arshdeep Singh was among the best performers for India in the World Cup. The young left-arm pacer finished as the joint wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 wickets from eight games at an economy rate of 6.31. He also made a crucial contribution in the final, taking 2/20 and impressed everyone with his control with the new ball and bowled an incredible spell at the end to choke South Africa.
Rajasthan Royals will feel disappointed as all three RR players -- Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal -- didn't get a single game in the entire World Cup.
RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj didn't have much to do either as he took one wicket in the three games he played in the group stages.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Gujarat Titans were other teams apart from KKR, who didn't have any players in the Indian World Cup team.
Another amazing fact is while India bagged $2.45 million (Rs 20.4 crore/Rs 204 million) for winning the T20 World Cup, IPL 2024's highest paid player Mitchell Starc's pay packet alone was Rs 24.75 crore/Rs 247.5 million.
