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The Indian men's cricket team created history by defeating South Africa to win the T20 World Cup 2024 by seven runs. With this victory, the Men in Blue ended their 11-year wait for an ICC trophy and a 13-year World Cup drought after coming extremely close multiple times through th previous decade.
In this article, we’ll take you through India’s performance at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2024
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
India’s grouping and placements
Group A
The Indian team kick-started their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in Group A, alongside Ireland, Pakistan, the USA and Canada. In their first game against the Irish, the Men in Blue cruised through a clinical eight-wicket win. Then came the Pakistan game where Team India was struggling but rallied to post a 119-run total and then defended it thanks to Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance.
The third game was another challenge with the USA pushing India to the limits but Suryakumar Yadav's resilient half-century helped seal a vital seven-wicket victory. Closing out the group stage, India had to settle for a no result as the game against Canada was washed out.
Super 8s
After going undefeated in the group stage, India was placed in Group 1 with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia in Super 8s. Continuing this dominant form, the Men in Blue demolished Afghanistan (by 47 runs) and Bangladesh (by 50 runs) in massive one-sided victories.
Stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya showed off their class. These modern-day greats also stepped up against Australia in the final Super 8s clash to help register a hard-fought 24-run win and qualify for the semis.
Semi-Finals
The semi-final was a repeat of the knockout fixture from the 2022 T20 World Cup where India and England locked horns. But unlike two years ago, the Men in Blue slayed the Three Lions to complete a 68-run victory. After a solid batting effort, the spin-bowling duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav combined to pick up six wickets and zoom into the final.
Final
Coming to the Grand Finale, India got off to a horrific start as they were reduced to 34-3 after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Rescuing Team India, Virat Kohli and Axar Patel put forth a vital 72-run stand before the lower order chipped in with robust cameos to post a competitive 176-run total.
Defending this total, India picked up a few early wickets but the trio of Tristan Stubbs, Henrich Klassen and David Miller got back South Africa into the contest. Klassen demolished the Indian spin attack and nearly won the Proteas the game. But in the end, the Indian pacers clinched the game by defending 30 runs in 30 balls to seal a historic victory.
