![Indian players celebrate with the trophy after winning against South Africa in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7680x5760+131+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fed%2F36%2F7c1147c04e77a72370dd078dec78%2Fap24181696267025.jpg)
Indian players celebrate with the trophy after winning against South Africa in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.
Ramon Espinosa/AP
Hide caption
Caption Toggle
Ramon Espinosa/AP
The Indian men's cricket team ended a 13-year drought in world cricket stadiums with a thrilling final win over South Africa in the 2020 World Cup on Saturday.
India and South Africa remained unbeaten in the match played in Barbados on Saturday. South Africa looked likely to win, but India thwarted the team's attempts to surpass India's 176-run score.
This was India's second T20 World Cup win. The team won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. It was also India's first World Cup win in 13 years in any form of cricket after a string of heartbreaking finals in the past 12 months.
“The players understand when there is pressure on them to do something,” said India captain Rohit Sharma. “Today was a perfect example. [we] You're stuck with your back against the wall. We really wanted this. I’m very proud of the boys and the management team.”
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, but many Americans are unfamiliar with it. T20 is an abbreviated form of the game. In a T20 game, each team has 20 overs. In each over, the opposing team's bowler (similar to a bowler) throws six balls for the batsman (similar to a batsman). The batsman scores a “run” for each ball he hits, which counts as a point for the team. Two batsmen play in each over.
“The easiest way to run, or maybe the hardest way, is to hit the ball as hard as you can so that it goes over the boundary line, over the edge of the field,” says Omkar Khandekar, an NPR producer in Mumbai, India. Morning edition. “If you can do that, you start running between what they call pitches. And the more you run, the more runs you get.”
India overcame early difficulties
Virat Kohli, one of the best batsmen of the team, played a crucial role in India’s final victory over South Africa. The Indian team struggled early on after deciding to bat first. They scored only 34 runs in their first five overs. This meant that during the first quarter of India’s time batting, the team averaged only about one run per ball.
But Kohli could have helped increase that average. When India finished batting, the score was 176-7, with 176 runs scored off 120 balls and seven players out.
![India's Virat Kohli celebrates after winning against South Africa in the final cricket match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7203x5402+451+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7a%2F17%2Ff62b6ff9401a8bedc86f1cfdb399%2Fap24181658624770.jpg)
India's Virat Kohli celebrates after winning against South Africa in the final cricket match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.
Ricardo Mazzalan/AP
Hide caption
Caption Toggle
Ricardo Magalán/AP
Kohli announced at the end of the match that this would be his last match to play in the T20 World Cup.
“This was my last T20 World Cup and this is what we wanted to achieve,” Kohli said. “I did a great job for the team on a big day. It's time for the next generation to take over. We have some amazing players who will lead the team forward and wave the flag high.”
Kohli put in a remarkable performance in his last match, scoring what is known as a “half-century” in cricket. Cricket is about a batsman scoring 50 runs while his team is batting.
![South Africa's Tabraj Shamsi (left) reacts after losing to India in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3945x2959+247+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fba%2F1a%2Fa014cbfe4cea9c450357ed9a9fee%2Fap24181702619016.jpg)
South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi (L) reacts after losing to India in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.
Ricardo Magalán/AP
Hide caption
Caption Toggle
Ricardo Magalán/AP
When South Africa came out to bat, the team looked strong. They scored 147 runs in 15 overs, thanks in part to Heinrich Klaasen. But when he was out, the team began to falter. Marco Janssen scored just two runs and India bowler Jasprit Bhumara bowled a ball that resulted in him being out.
Bumrah was awarded the title of 'Player of the Tournament' for his hard-hitting bowling style.
![America doesn't care about cricket. Can Major League Cricket change that?](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/07/13/ap23193166972710_sq-8d16fae942993720d277db9a180467b2a7ee236d.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
David Miller scored 21 runs for the South African team from 17 balls, but a stunning catch by India's Suryakumar Yadav in the final over of the tournament ruled Miller out of the match, leaving South Africa's remaining batsmen to score the remaining runs needed for victory. I couldn't do it. In the end, the South Africans were just seven points behind.
This is the first time South Africa has reached the final of an international cricket tournament.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram said he was “absolutely devastated”. “It hurts quite a bit, but I’m incredibly proud. We never got comfortable and things happened quickly on the back end, but we got into a good position where we could prove we were worthy finalists.”