To finish this T20 World Cup ahead of spearhead and ‘Player of the Tournament’ Jasprit Bumrah (15) in the wickets column speaks volumes about the evolution of Arshdeep as India’s premier left-arm pacer in the white-ball format.And he couldn’t have celebrated that success in a better way than by playing a key role in India winning the T20 World Cup.
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While Arshdeep took 17 wickets to finish as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, along with Bangladesh pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, he once again displayed calmness in pressure situations of a World Cup final to deliver a fine spell of 2 for 20.
As the families celebrated India’s historic triumph in Barbados, Arshdeep’s parents also joined in on the ground at the Kensington Oval; and in a heatwarming moment captured in a video, the pacer honoured them by taking off his winners’ medal and making his mom and dad wear it to get clicked.
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India, having chosen to bat first, managed to put up a competitive total of 176 for 7, largely due to Virat Kohli’s outstanding innings of 76 off 59 balls, which earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award. Axar Patel’s valuable contribution of 47 runs off 31 balls also played a crucial role in India’s total.
In response, South Africa suffered two early setbacks but managed to stage an impressive comeback through the efforts of Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) and Quinton de Kock (39 off 31 balls). Their partnership brought the required run rate down to just one run per ball.
However, Hardik Pandya’s timely intervention, dismissing the dangerous Klaasen, helped India regain control of the match. ‘Player of the Tournament’ Jasprit Bumrah’s exceptional 18th over, in which he conceded only two runs and picked up a wicket, further tilted the balance in India’s favour.
Arshdeep then bowled the penultimate over and kept the pressure on the Proteas by giving away just four runs.
The defining moment of the match came at the start of the 20th over when Suryakumar Yadav took a spectacular catch at the boundary off Pandya’s bowling. Pandya’s impressive figures of 3 for 20 were the best on the bowling chart as South Africa’s chase fell short, finishing at 169 for 8, securing a thrilling victory for India.
