Heartstopper cricket in Barbados

More than a game, cricket since aeons has found its place as an innate culture in India. Just two days before, India thrived at the biggest stage of T20 cricket making the country go wild with celebrations.

India defeated South Africa in the final of the 9th Twenty20 World Cup held in America and West Indies. This is India's fourth World Cup in all formats and the second in Twenty20s. India won the tournament for the first time since the first Twenty20 World Cup held in South Africa in 2007. More important is the reality that this is India’s first victory in a tournament organized by the International Cricket Council after a gap of 11 years.

In 1983, the World Cup was brought back home by 'Kapil Dev's Devils' after the team defeated West Indies in the finals held in the mecca of cricket, Lords. This eventually laid the foundations for the popularity of cricket in India.

The success of the first Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 also paved the way for the arrival of the hugely successful cricket league 'IPL'. When India lifted the World Cup under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the ODI format in 2011, it was a dream come true moment for Sachin Tendulkar, considered one of the greatest players ever to grace the sport.

Except for winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, ICC trophies started slipping out of India’s hands in recent years. Despite achieving top rank in all three formats Test, ODI and Twenty20, India in recent years has made it a practice to stumble down in the final lap of prized tournaments. BCCI tried all tricks from their book including the appointment of veterans Ravi Shastri, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid as coaches, but had to wait till 2024 to taste the real glory at the sunny avenue of Barbados.

It was just seven months before that Rohit Sharma and his team reached the final of World Cup cricket by winning all the matches in the tournament. With just hours shy away from kissing the World Cup title, India stumbled yet again while the Aussies regained their crown of the 'undisputed in world cricket'.

All quibbles were avenged in Barbados while individual performances also headlined the victory.

Hardik Pandya brought life back to the Indian fans when he dismissed fiery Heinrich Klaasen, who was determined to help the Proteas taste their first ICC cup of the millennial. Hardik had to endure a difficult last few months. Rumours went about his marriage hitting a roadblock, Mumbai Indians downfall and the constant trolls from social media. considering what he had been through, the T20 victory was nothing short of poetic justice.

Two overs from Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh controlled the game in the final overs. But what robbed Proteas of the World Cup title was the worldly catch from Suryakumar Yadav who trod a fine line to whisk past the boundary line.

Although Sanju did not get a chance to take the field except for one warm-up match, the experience of being part of the champion team will be an asset for the Malayali star in his future endeavours.

Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma have announced to step down from T20 cricket. Coach Rahul Dravid is also bidding adieu after reaching the end of his tenure. Gloom may fall on many faces, to see their heroes slowly exiting from the spotlight. On the brighter side, they have ended things on a very high note.