The captain of the winning India team at the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma, took to social media to share a heartfelt message for his fans after the side confirmed a seven-run victory over South Africa on Sunday in the championship final of the competition at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
This came alongside an announcement of his retirement from T20I cricket, in which he ends with 4231 runs from 159 matches as the highest scorer and is on record for the most centuries in men's T20Is to add on to his accolades as a two-time World Champion in this format.
He shared this on the microblogging site 'X', where, accompanied by the picture, he wrote, "This picture epitomises how I’m feeling right now. So many words but can’t find the right ones to express what yesterday meant to me but I will, and I will share them, but right now I’m basking in a dream come true for a billion of us."
One of two undefeated teams heading into Saturday's final, India had in Virat Kohli, adjudged Player of the Match, a 59-ball 76 which gave them just enough to see them through and set 176/7, the highest total in a Men's T20 World Cup final. At the heart of two crucial stands were also Virat Kohli, which included one of 72 with Axar Patel for a 47 from 31 balls, and a combo of 57 with Shivam Dube for 16-ball 27.
Deep inside, while South Africa was relentless since 255 was chased down from this very point, Heinrich Klaasen's wicket through Hardik Pandya turned matters drastically in favor of India, and India went on to win the match—ending the 11-year-long wait for a global trophy once again. India kept South Africa to 169/8 as Hardik Pandya returned with 3 for 20 and Player of the Tournament Jasprit Bumrah starring with 2 for 18.
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