The match of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 was very exciting. In this match, India won the T20 World Cup title for the second time by defeating South Africa by seven runs. However, there is still a debate among the fans about what was the turning point of the match. In fact, on the basis of Heinrich Klaasen’s blazing half-century, South Africa was in a position to win the match at one time. He needed 30 runs to win from the last 20 balls. But after this the Indian bowlers made a brilliant comeback. Hardik took the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen, after which Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh bowled excellent overs.
Due to the Indian bowlers, South Africa, who at one time needed run-a-ball, had to score 16 runs in the last over to win. Hardik Pandya had come to bowl the last over for India, who got David Miller caught out by Suryakumar Yadav on the very first ball. This catch was quite brilliant and it is being praised everywhere. However, the Player of the Match award was given to Virat Kohli, whose innings of 76 runs in 59 balls helped India score 176, which surprised former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar.
espn cricinfo But in a post-match show, Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Kohli’s innings of 76 runs in 59 balls had put India in trouble, after which the fast bowlers came to the rescue. Manjrekar also said that his choice for Player of the Match would not have been Kohli but any Indian bowler. Sanjay Manjrekar said, “Playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most explosive batsmen, faced only two balls. So I think India’s batting was good, but Virat Kohli potentially played such a Had played an innings which would have put India in a difficult position and in the end it proved to be almost the same before these guys’ bowlers arrived.
Sanjay Manjrekar said, “India was in a losing position, the chances of victory (for South Africa) were 90 per cent. By completely changing the match, it actually saved Virat Kohli’s innings because he spent almost half the innings on strike of 128. “My player of the match would have been a bowler because he really took the game out of defeat and won for India.”
Whereas former Zimbabwean cricketer Andy Flower had a different thinking. According to him, India had performed very well with the bat by scoring a total of 176 runs on the board. But, he admitted that if Rohit Sharma’s team had lost the match, Kohli would have been criticized a lot. Andy Flower said, “If India had been bowled out there, I believe there would have been a lot of criticism of Virat Kohli. At the halfway stage, I felt there was enough for India, and it was too much for South Africa.” “It was going to be a very difficult target.”